It's Time For Animaniacs- and Alice
by ProjectAnimation
Summary: Alice, a new toon, sets out to meet the Warner Siblings, and quickly develops a close bond with all of them. However, she notices that Yakko has been quiet ever since she came. Something is saddening them all, and Alice is determined to help. Hint of romance between Alice and Yakko- expect more in future stories. This is just an introduction to Alice, for later stories. Enjoy! :)
1. From Humble Beginnings

She could remember it quite well: the scent of cherry gum, the sound of the pencil scratching on the crisp white paper, the Glenn Miller humming in the background. Her wide black eyes searched the page for another, but she was alone, under the glaring light and shadow of her creator. Then, there was feeling: A cold, wet dab of bright red paint on her ticklish nose. She crinkled it and sneezed, issuing a gasp of shock from her creator. This encouraged her, and so she sat up from the page, feeling the surge of energy through the tips of her lopsided ears down to her huge feet. She pushed up off the page and brushed the eraser shavings from her fur, testing her newfound balance. She looked around the desk, at the inkpot, the speaker blaring _In the Mood_, and the pencil box. At her feet was chicken scratch with words about her-

Alice- 13 years-

Sarcastic, imaginative, adventurous, well read

Talents- she sings, plays the piano, dulcimer, and clarinet

She looked up at the artist, her humble creator, and blew a small kiss. She hopped down from the desk and landed lightly on the carpet below, careful not to drip the still-fresh ink on the fluffy white nylon. She was at her creator's feet, and she quickly observed that she was as her hips in height. Not a bad height, she decided, but another inch or two would've been nice.

Her creator looked down at her, disbelief evident in her eyes, but a trembling at the corner of her mouth, as though she wanted to smile but couldn't. "You're… you're alive?"

Alice opened her tense mouth and rolled her tongue around, gaining the feeling. A hum in the back of her throat caught her attention and she pressed down in the back of her throat, producing a new sound. "…Yes… yes…? Yes! _Yes, yes, yes_!" she cried, enjoying the sound of her own voice. It was a light, clear, melodic voice, like water. But there was squeaky, hyper sound she could detect behind the elegance, and she knew it was the sarcastic humor waiting to be tested.

Then, in a rush of thoughts common to a new toon, another thought popped into her bursting head. She looked around and spotted it- a mirror above the dresser. Up, up, up, on her still sensitive legs, she hopped and landed lightly on the top of the dresser.

"_Ooh_!" she squealed, admiring herself in the mirror. She was short and skinny, with uncommonly big feet, even for a toon, but she was cute, nonetheless. Not as cute as… who? She knew the name, but couldn't place a face just yet.

Her skirt was a nice, deep shade of sky blue, and her big ears were tied back with a ribbon. She was particularly fond of her cute little nose, perfectly red and round and shiny, and the tuft of hair on her head that fell into a perfect curl, just like her creator's hair. All in all, she wasn't half bad looking.

Using her newfound voice again, she replied, "I like it! Nice job on my nose! I- _ooh_! What is _that_?"

She turned around and grabbed at it, but it disappeared. She looked over her shoulder and there it was, wagging in her face. She began to chase it around herself and slipped off the side of the dresser. She landed with a clunk on the carpet and shook her head. Then, she could see it between her legs and she realized she was sitting on it.

The artist leant and picked her up gingerly. "That's your tail, Alice, Sweetie."

Alice hopped up on the bed and waggled her tail, a tiny smile appearing on her face. "It's pretty," she said, her eyes widening. She snapped her tail and plopped down contently. She smiled again at the artist and said, "You look awfully scared, you know."

The artist remained, still clutching the chair. "No, I'm not…"

Alice rolled her black eyes kindly and said, "Well sit down, then!"

The artist sat next to her, a sudden, elated smile spreading across her face. She asked quickly, "Do you know what you are?"

Alice squinted at the ceiling and thought hard. "Am I an Animaniac?"

The artist stood up and squealed like a pig, clapping her hands wildly. "Yes! Yes, you are!" she exclaimed, thrilled.

Alice squinted at her almost nervously. "It's alive, it's alive!" she said to herself.

The artist said hastily, "Do you know… um, any others?"

Alice stared at her. "Um, I think so. There _are_ more, right?"

"Yes, three more. Think harder." The artist had folded her hands as if praying, and she awaited Alice's answer patiently.

"They live in California, huh?"

Being the image of an artist, who, as an artist does, poured her own feelings and emotions into the character, she understood her creator's thoughts exactly. Her fears were her fears, her pains were her pains, and her knowledge was her knowledge, and Alice was pleased to find that there was plenty of all of it. So she immediately understood that she was in Reno, Nevada. She smiled lightly at her creator.

"Not a bad town, Reno," she confessed, "But it's certainly not Burbank, now, is it?"

The artist responded carefully, "No, it's not."

Alice jumped down and strolled determinedly to the door.

The artist reached out. "Wait! W-where are you going?"

Alice stared. "To Burbank, of course!"

"You don't know where that is, though. Do you?"

Alice instinctively reached and grasped, and from behind her she pulled a map. She flipped it open and studied it casually.

The artist gasped. "How did you do that?"

Alice wrinkled her nose, thinking harder than before. "I don't know. But Burbank isn't too far."

The artist ran to her speaker and grabbed her phone. She typed something in and exclaimed, "It's seven hours to get there, Alice. When we go to Disneyland, my family and I just fly, and you don't have a ticket! This is a real world, not a cartoon! You can't just spontaneously _go_ somewhere!"

Alice grinned broadly. "Of course I can! And I'll fly, just like you said. Thanks for the tip."

The artist's jaw hung open incredulously. "You're leaving?"

"Oh, it depends, you know. I just wanted to meet my brethren."

"You are going to _meet_ the Warner Brothers… and the Warner Sister?"

Alice batted her eyelashes impishly. "You mean you don't want me to stay?"

The artist reached out. "Oh, no, of course I do! But, erm… I want you to be happy, too. You can go see them, if you wish…"

Alice thought to herself for a moment or two and made up her mind. "What if I just visit?"

The artist nodded slowly. "Go on ahead. You're an Animaniac; you can get there. But, wait! First… can I get a picture with you?"

Alice rolled her eyes and sighed. "I'm already a star," she sighed, "But it's a living." She posed for the camera with the cheesiest smile she could muster. Then the artist escorted her through the house and to the front door.

However, just when she was walking out, the artist called, "Wait!"

Alice turned around. The artist went to her and grabbed her arm gently. She strapped her watch around Alice's wrist and said, "Think of me when you see it, okay?"

Alice smiled and gave her a quick hug. "Of course," she promised. "I will guard this watch with my life, m'lady."

With that, she walked out into the street, the hot Nevada sun warming the pavement and scorching her new, tender feet. She stood at the end of the street, focusing on the tree- lined stretch of pavement before her. With a bit of concentration, she could feel herself changing, and with a burst of energy, the little airplane barreled down the street and rocketed into the sky with a boom just before she hit the fence. West she soared, imagining what she would find when she arrived.


	2. Welcome to Burbank

2. Welcome to Burbank- 

Yakko threw open the water tower door and flung himself over the railing, barely dodging a strong shot from his little sister. The water balloon soared through the air with a whistle and hit Mr. Plotz's window with a burst of water. Inside, Thaddeus Plotz, the angry little CEO of the studio, grabbed his phone and barked, "RALPH! They're out again! Yes, I'm sure, you lazy, good-for-nothing union worker! Now get off your lazy butt and deal with those _WARNERS_!"

"Ha! You throw like a girl!" Yakko yelled, flinging another balloon at her with his free arm.

Dot squeaked, "That's alright, at least I don't throw like _you_!" as she dodged the balloon easily.

Yakko barked back, "Ha! I'm just going easy on you, _Princess_ Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bobesca the Third!" He threw another, but Dot jumped up and it splashed right under her.

She giggled and fluttered her eyelashes coquettishly. She responded, "I can't help it, Brother Dear, if I'm a princess. I'm just too good at everything! I'm fast, and smart, and _c_-,"

A sharp strike and cold explosion of water on her back made her freeze in her tracks. The Great Wakko had struck.

What had started as a simple game in the bathtub led to a full-fledged war amongst the siblings, and it went on around the water tower and eventually ended up outside. The inside of the tower, completely soaked, was draining from the opening base and leaks in the bolts. Water pooled around the platform, and Yakko and Wakko dripped with water. But Dot had remained untouched… until now.

Now Dot stood on the threshold of the door, her brow sinking down into a murderous glare over her flaming red eyes, and her lips curled into a monstrous snarl. Her fur stood up on end.

Yakko strapped an M1 helmet under his chin and shrieked, "_Run, Wakko, run for your life!_" He wildly slid down the steel support beams holding up the water tower and dived headfirst into a metal trashcan behind the service building. He was just in time.

It came with a boom, a splash, and a wild scream; waves and torrents of water spewed from the water tower door, washing out the pathetic remnants of colorful rubber balloons. Wakko was creamed, Dot taunting him all the while with a sadistic, accomplished grin.

Yakko stayed curled up in the trash, relishing the thought of his aggressive kid brother getting what was coming to him (and praying that Wakko didn't pull out his mallet, even though Wakko never purposely hurt his little sister), and a small part of him wished he were there to laugh. But then he remembered that Wakko would surely turn on him, so he decided hiding was a better option for the time being.

Finally, being brave, he peeked over the rim of the trashcan at the sound of another's cry for help. Poor Ralph, the helpless, dim-witted security guard, was being washed away with the current, his net drifting pathetically beside him.

"Help! Help!" he croaked, waving at Plotz in his office window, who stood tearing his feathery gray hair out in tufts. Yakko ducked back down into the can before anyone spotted him. He could still hear the water and the wild shouts for help, but they began to die down until there was only the sound of water trickling off down the side of the tower platform.

When he was sure his kid brother had surrendered, Yakko hopped out of the trashcan and warily watched for another attack. When it didn't come, he threw his helmet up in the air with a gleeful laugh.

"Dot won! Dot won!" he cheered, kart wheeling across the parking lot and sang "There'll be a Jubilee". Dot's little body emerged, her fur spotless and dry aside from the damp spot on her back where she was hit. She cheered along with her big brother, shaking her clasped hands in the air triumphantly.

Of course, the commotion caught the attention of everyone in the general area. Ralph popped up from a box pile behind the prop department, Rita and Runt hiding behind him warily. Plotz was still at the window, his mouth moving into his phone in what was most certainly a stream of obscenities. Dr. Scratchansniff and Hello Nurse emerged from the p-psychiatry office and Yakko grabbed the no longer surprised nurse, tipped her back, and kissed her full in the mouth. He let her go casually and winked before climbing back up the steel beam.

He landed lightly on the platform and shook Dot's hand with a salute. "Dot Warner, you have single-handedly stopped the Great Wakko Warner, and have saved the water tower."

Dot batted her eyelashes flirtatiously. "It was my duty," she informed the ogling audience below, and with that, she and her big brother turned to enter the tower. But a low hum could be heard and their ears perked up considerably.

"What is it, Yakko?" Dot whispered.

Yakko looked up to see a small shape in the distance. Wakko came out behind them, soaking wet and pouting, but nobody noticed him. Yakko held out his gloved hand like a surgeon. "Wakko, binoculars."

Wakko indignantly passed over a nonexistent pair of binoculars and Yakko peered through, immediately being able to make out the features. He blinked a couple times and looked again. But he wouldn't believe it. He pulled away and rubbed his eyes disbelievingly. "That's not possible…"

Dot tugged at his arm. "What is it?" she squealed impatiently.

Yakko took one more look. "I… I think it's another one… of _us_."

Alice drifted down to the white pavement, opened red umbrella in hand and the other folded neatly behind her back. She stood up and threw the umbrella away carelessly, then observed her surroundings. The ground was wet, and she immediately assumed that it was because she was in a more humid environment. She looked up to see the still-dripping water tower looming before her, and suddenly felt very small, almost timid. She inched up to it and tapped the steel beam gingerly, and suddenly, three black and white blurs swarmed in around her and she dropped to the ground, her legs balled up with her arms over her head and her eyes squeezed shut. But a voice caught her attention. She opened her eyes a crack to see three toons just like her, simply standing there.

The little one was the only girl. She had a pink skirt, button nose, and flower tucked by her ears. The overall cuteness in her grin was infectious. The littler brother was almost dog-like, with his tongue hanging lazily from his smiling mouth and his long tail wagging. He wore a soft, worn blue sweater with sleeves that covered his gloved hands, and a backwards, bright red cap. The oldest brother was slender and attractive, with bright eyes and a wide smile, the lovable mischief lying underneath his grin poorly concealed. He wore much-too-big slacks held on by a tight black belt tightly pulled around his thin waist.

The three stood before her, curiosity painted on their faces, their eyes darting over her. Behind the eagerness was a hint of confusion and something that looked like insecurity. But they all smiled kindly, and Alice felt her arms fall to her side. She smiled shyly.

It was the tallest that spoke first.

"Hello?"

"… Hello."

"Who are you?"

"…Alice."

"Well, Alice, where are you from?"

"Reno."

"What?"

"It's a city in Nevada."

"Oh, neat! Er, that's far…?"

"I suppose so. Just an hour away by air."

Yakko reached out and took her gloved hand to help her stand. "It's nice to meet you!"

He grabbed Wakko's shoulders and they said in unison, "We're the Warner Brothers!"

"And the Warner _Sister_," the little one chimed in.

"I'm Yakko!"

"I'm Wakko!"

"And I'm Princess Angelinca Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca III, but you can call me Dot! Tee, hee!"

And with that, they all jumped in and gave her a big kiss.

Having the same thoughts and feelings as her creator, Alice suddenly recalled memories that weren't hers, but the artist's, of rainy days sitting at the T.V, singing along to the theme song (even in French, once), reciting the nations she had taken to heart with Yakko, and blowing water out her nose at the 'Baloney and Kids' segment… literally. They were nice memories, when the artist didn't have to worry about anything but the show.

Alice was suddenly honored. She had been made in their likeness to be a substitute, a way for the artist to have her own adventures with the Warner Siblings and their friends. It was a refuge for her, and she didn't get to come.

Alice was overcome with emotion and modesty in their presence. She began to cry and took Yakko and Wakko by the hands. She said in a rush, "It's… It's such an _honor_, to meet _all_ of you! I- I am a toon, too, but not an-,"

"Animaniac," Yakko finished. "Sure you are! You're cute, a _cartoonus characterous_, an Animaniac! Now, where you came from is the real question."

Alice was about to respond when Wakko interrupted, "Come inside, though, and we can eat! I'm hungry!"

"You're always hungry," Alice responded, clueless to the fact that she had only known him for a couple of minutes. But she knew the show inside and out, whether it was instinct or memories. But the siblings didn't know that, and the petrified looks they gave her said it all. Alice coughed.

Yakko pointed his thumb at her and exclaimed, "Smarter than advertized."

Dot hastily squealed, "Let's go eat, and you can tell us all about yourself!"

Alice looked up timidly. "Eat?"

"Yeah, sure!" Yakko said, leading her with his arm around her shoulders, "We can have dinner, talk about copyright issues, et cetera et cetera…"

Alice stood at the threshold of the tower, gaping at the sight before her. Amusement park didn't begin to describe it, but neither did mini golf course, nor cluttered attic, nor cozy log cabin. It was everything, from the train track to the roller coaster, from the spacious kitchen to the cozy triple bunk bed next to the refrigerator, from the idealistic, cozy family room with elegant armchairs and a ping-pong table to the log flue under the fireplace, and from the full-scale frontier-style fort to the giant cannon next to the door.

Alice whispered, "How did you do all this?"

Yakko whistled innocently. "Well, it was an accident, but The Pike in Long Beach closed because we may or may not have dismantled the Cyclone Racer."

"But you never left the tower before 1993!"

"Well, that's a more interesting and unnecessarily long and convoluted story, but I'm hungry and we want to hear about you, so it doesn't matter."

The Warners led Alice to the kitchen, where they sat her down on their nicest stool. Just up above their heads, the train rattled by with a whistle and Alice jumped. Dot laughed and said, "It's okay, we just ignore it. Hey! _Wakko!_ Put it back!"

Wakko, a giant frosted cake positioned at his gaping mouth, frowned and put it back in the fridge with a grumble.

Dot was at a shelf and called over her shoulder, "How does Mexican sound?"

Wakko held up maracas and Yakko, a sombrero appearing on his head, began, "_Jalisco, Jalisco, Jalisco tu tienes_-,"

"No, not like that, you loon!" Dot snapped impatiently, and the boys threw away the costumes. Alice stifled a shy giggle.

Wakko plopped down next to Alice and said in a bored voice, "I wanna order pizza. Oh! And the twisty cinnamon things, too! With frosting!"

"Is that okay with you?" Yakko asked Alice.

Alice shrugged easily and smiled. "Yes, of course."

Yakko, Wakko, and Dot glanced at each other, the only sound being the train rumbling across the tracks, and suddenly, the three of them exploded- "I'LL DO IT!"

They were nothing but a blur- three black and white shapes circling the Bugs Bunny phone like sharks, and a wild wrestling match ensued. Alice froze, clutching the stool uncertainly. Yakko finally emerged on top, Wakko and Dot tangled in the chord. He picked it up and dialed. Then a muffled, 'Hello?' could be heard.

"Hello, Daaaaawling," Yakko crooned in a heavy Brooklyn accent, "Yes, yes… oh, you _devil_! Well, I'll order 30 of the extra large three-cheese, onion ring, Frito, and hot wing Diabetes Pies with bacon. Oh! And can we have bacon on the pizza, too?"

Wakko called, "And the cinnamon things, okay!"

Yakko, now lying across the table lazily, his feet kicked up behind him in the style of a pin-up girl, giggled sarcastically, "Oh, and Dawling, throw in 10 orders of the cinnamon twists. Oh, you silly thing, of course, I am very athletic… What? Oh, that's sweet of you, Honey, but I have plans for the weekend. Right, right, it's Warner Brothers Studios, the Water Tower. Oh, yeah, I guess I am eclectic, huh? Well, tootles." He hung up and hopped down from the table. "Pizza will be here in ten minutes. And I might be going to Burning Man with a guy named Armando. So, what's the plan, Wakko?"

Wakko grinned devilishly. "We still have some leftover water balloons." With that, he laid out blueprints on the counter and explained, "We will ambush him. I say Yakko, Dot, and I take the back while Alice takes the pizza and leaves the money. Then at the end, she gets him _WHAM_! Right in the face!"

Dot tapped Wakko's hand and said, "But Wakko, isn't that a little unfair? We don't usually torture somebody unless they were mean to us."

Wakko's tongue flopped out of his mouth, clueless. Then he shrugged. "Well, we don't have to do it in a _mean_ way. Just a fun way."

Dot put her finger to her mouth in thought. Then she nodded. "We'll pay him a bigger tip. Okay, I'm in!"

"Me too!"

"I'm game! Alice?"

Alice, shocked that they'd include her, nodded slowly without conscious thought of what she was even supposed to do. "What do I do?"

Yakko shrugged. "Something funny, _dur_! You're an Animaniac, come up with something."

Alice nodded modestly. With the spontaneous wit of her creator and zany demeanor of a toon, she knew she could whip something up. It was more the matter of expertise the others had in the area, resulting from decades of practice, while she had been created about two hours ago. But she knew she'd get the hang of it sooner or later.

Yakko went around the corner and came back lugging a bucket of untouched water balloons and plunked it down on the concrete floor. Just then, out of nowhere, there came a loud electric guitar. "Eye of the Tiger" echoed through the tower and rumbled under the floor. The world became slow motion. Alice turned to see Wakko painting ink streaks across his white cheeks and Dot was picking out each pink balloon. She strained her ears, listening to hear where the music was coming from. "Hey, Alice!"

Alice turned around to see Yakko, Wakko, and Dot standing akimbo, ammo belts loaded with balloons over their shoulders. Yakko tossed her a blue one and smiled. "Just in case you have anything planned," he explained.

"Thanks," Alice said, taking it and stowing it behind her back.

Wakko scampered over to the wall, where he pulled down the handles of a periscope. He peered through and his head turned into a siren. "BEEP! BEEP! Pizza alert! Pizza alert! Battle stations, I repeat! Make your way to your designated battle stations! Dot- activate stairs!"

Yakko, Wakko, and Dot yanked on the wheel opening the skylight, and with the agility of ninjas, swung up and out of the hole. Wakko's head popped back in and he did the I'm-watching-you fingers before disappearing through the closing skylight. It slid shut with a clang.

Alice skid over to the periscope and peered through. She spotted the pimple-faced, straw-haired delivery boy hop out of the car and stare incredulously up at the spiraling stairs leading up to the tower platform. Part of her felt bad, the other part laughing. Then, three blurs streaked down from the roof and disappeared seemingly into thin air. She took a deep breath and shook out her arms. It was her first official time to use her tricks.

Alice waited patiently for the poor delivery boy to lug the stack of boxes to the top of the stairs and opened the door just before he reached out to knock. The door swung open and she smiled sweetly. His nametag said his name was Clyde.

"Hey there, Cowboy." She jumped in and gave him a big kiss.

The boy wiped his mouth and grunted, "Uuuuhhh… yer pizza's her. You ordered, right?"

Alice paused for a moment just to enjoy the confused look on his face, surely trying to understand where he was and what this… _thing_ was. Then she coughed and replied, "Oh, yes, I did. You carried all that up here, Hercules?"

The boy blushed and grunted, "Yah. Uh, that'll be $201 bucks."

Alice pulled Bambi from behind her back. "How's this? It's the only one I've got."

The poor boy blinked rapidly and grunted, "Uh…"

Alice rolled her eyes and set Bambi down, who skittered off down the stairs. Alice grinned and called, "Disney's across Ventura! Careful of all the cars! Traffic's awful at this time of day!" She turned back to the frozen delivery boy and said, "Now where were we?"

The boy stood, mouth agape, and Alice giggled. "I have a dry sense of humor," she explained. "I guess I'm all wet then, huh?"

The boy coughed stupidly. "Eh, well, no… um, I mean- uh, you're all wet?"

Alice shook her head sweetly. "No."

_SPLASH_.

The blue balloon exploded across his face.

On cue, the Warner siblings dropped down behind him in fantastic stances and simultaneously threw water balloons, hitting the poor boy in the back. He screamed and flung the pizza boxes behind him, which soared through the air and landed neatly in Alice's outstretched arms.

The boy turned around to face her and back, but the Warner siblings were already gone. The siblings zipped behind him, unseen, and took the stack of pizza boxes from Alice quietly and bolted back inside. The poor boy was prepared to flee in utter terror when he turned once more to face Alice, who stood sweetly with her hands folded neatly behind her back. He stared in horror, and she just smiled back.

"_You _are."

The boy tumbled and slipped down the stairs, screaming wildly. He scrambled down as fast as light and leapt into his car, desperately revving the engine.

"Wait!" Alice called, and he looked up in terror for a split second. Alice took two $100 bills and folded them into a small bird that flitted down and through the car's window, a penny clamped in its beak.

The delivery boy screamed and peeled out of the lot before anyone could even see, and the Warner siblings and Alice waved goodbye from the platform. When the poor boy was out of sight, the three siblings turned to Alice and cheered.

"That was great!" Dot squealed, squeezing Alice tightly around the waist because she was too short to reach her shoulders.

Wakko heartily shook her hand and said, "Nice Disney reference! You did it without even getting copyright permission!"

Yakko took her by the shoulders and said, "Congratulations! You are officially and Animaniac!"

Alice wrinkled her nose. "I thought you said I already was one."

"Eh, it's just a formality." Yakko led her into the tower, still holding her by the shoulders. "Come on, let's go eat, _Animaniac_."

They all sat on the oversized couch in front of the giant flat-screen television, watching Andy Griffith reruns for Wakko. Alice's creator grew up on the show, even naming her dog Barney, so Alice loved the show just as much as Wakko did. Greasy napkins, pizza crusts, and empty boxes littered the table, and. Yakko was sprawled across the left arm of the couch, his belt unbuckled, and Dot was curled up beside him affectionately with a mouth full of cinnamon sticks. Wakko sat with his own box before him, onion rings and bacon bits littering his shirt. Alice sat on Dot's beanbag chair that she had graciously offered, gnawing on a slice and trying to ignore the concrete food wall in her stomach. She noticed Yakko staring at her, and she smiled. He smiled back and said, "So… how was the pizza?"

"Not bad," Alice said, wiping her face off with a napkin.

Dot sat up with some difficulty, due to the pizza she was stuffed with, and said, "How do you like it here so far?"

"It's great! This is really, really fun. It's nothing like I thought it would be."

"Are you from the animation department?" Wakko asked through a mouthful of cheese.

"No, you bimbo, she's from Reno! She said that not even an hour ago!" Dot said.

Yakko leaned across the arm of the couch and batted his eyelashes at her. He was really quite handsome if one overlooked the frosting on the tip of his nose. "You haven't said much, you know," he said. "You _can_ talk, right?"

Alice blushed and grinned. "I'm just shocked that I'm here with you all. This is such fun. My creator would never even believe me!"

"Tell us about her, would you?" Wakko said, pausing the T.V. The siblings leaned in expectantly.

Alice was taken by surprise at their enthusiasm. "Yes, sure, but why are you so interested in it?"

Dot shrugged. "We have pencil parents, and a crazy creator."

"We were accidents," Wakko added, and the room went strangely silent.

Yakko grinned and blew a kiss. "Goodnight everybody!"

Alice giggled and said, "Well, it wasn't anything special, being created. And my creator's really nice, really loud, and kind of crazy. But she really does love you three. She knows all of your songs, and she _loves_ you, Yakko. She finds you _very_ attractive and caring."

Yakko inspected his nails with a grin. "Ah, she has taste," he replied.

Alice grinned. "She thinks you're absolutely adorable," she said to Dot.

Dot flipped her ears sassily. "It's a living, being cute," she said.

"And she adores your gookie, Wakko. She thinks you're darling."

Wakko blushed and responded, "Well, shucks! She sounds wonderful."

"Oh, she is!" Alice said excitedly, her eyes wandering for a moment to the watch around her wrist. "She wants to know everything about it here, so when I go back to Nevada-,"

"Go?"

Alice's eyes met with Yakko's. Something plummeted inside her.

"Well… I have to go home soon."

The Warner siblings all looked up from their pizza. "_Go_?" Wakko repeated, as though he had misunderstood. Dot nodded.

Alice bit her lip. "I promised my creator that I would come home after I met you."

Yakko was looking down in his lap. He sighed and shrugged. "Then we'll come with you," he suggested, looking up into her eyes. He smiled hopefully.

Alice shot out of her seat in disbelief. "You'd do that? For me?"

Yakko assured her, "Oh, sure! They've got gambling there."

"And we can meet your creator!" Dot and Wakko chimed in.

Alice sighed. "How wonderful," she said quietly.

Yakko smiled at her. Alice smiled back, but something was obvious in Yakko's face that something was bothering him. She was going to say something, but decided against it. It wasn't the time. She coughed hastily, trying to think of a conversation starter.

"Um… do you all mind showing me the studio tomorrow?"

The Warner siblings all sat up at the same time ecstatically. "Sure!" they all exclaimed.

"We can show you the stages! And play with the cameras!" Dot squealed.

"And introduce you to Hello Nurse! And Minerva!" Yakko cried, wiggling his eyebrows.

"And drop anvils on Baloney!" Wakko said. When he received looks, he added quickly, "I meant visit the Princesses of Props." When the looks continued, he suggested, "Visit ACME Labs?"

Alice laughed. "I'd like that," she said. Wakko sighed, relieved.

The four Animaniacs just sat, smiling. They couldn't help it; tomorrow was a big day. Alice's insides were flipping at the thought, but something deep and dark in Yakko's eyes made her almost wish that she wasn't there at all.


	3. Za Sing and a Toonsters Game

HellOOOOO, Nurses!

I'd like to thank you all for checking out my fanfiction! It's my first one, so I'm a little nervous. I want to stay as similar/ realistic (if you could call the Animaniacs realistic!) to the real cartoon. Please let me know what you think so far!

Just updated the chapter, and the second half is up! Sorry it took so long, but I'm just crammed with school! Enjoy! ^-^

* * *

3. Za Sing and a Toonsters Game-

"_Sssssssh, you'll wake her up, Wakko!"_

_"__I'm just looking!"_

_"__At what, her nose? Why don't you just give her a kiss already?"_

_"__Ewwwww, that's disgusting! No way! I'm just watching. When she breathes her tummy goes up. Get on, you should try it!"_

_"__She's not a _ride_, Wakko! C'mon, let's go before Yakko-,"_

_"__Hey, you two! What are you doing?"_

_"__Nothing!"_

_"__Come here, Yakko! Check it out!"_

_"__Wakko!"_

_"__C'mon, sibs, leave her alone already!"_

Alice twitched her nose at a puff of hot morning breath in her face. She opened her eyes and they locked with two crossed ones, and she screamed and leapt up into the air, flinging Wakko off her stomach and over the edge of the bed with a wild cry. Dot fell back onto her bottom, holding her stomach as she laughed raucously.

Alice shook her head dizzily and asked, "What was that for?"

Wakko sat up from beside the bed, his eyes twitching and his tongue flopping indecently. He looked at her and said nervously, "Just saying 'good morning'."

"Hey, Sibs, that's enough! Let Alice sleep already!"

Alice looked up to see Yakko leaning up in the doorframe, his arms crossed disapprovingly. But a glint in his eye hinted that he wasn't mad. Wakko and Dot, familiar with the glint, smiled apologetically.

Alice grinned at Wakko. "Good morning," she said, feeling her cheeks flush.

Wakko and Dot looked down at their big feet. "Sorry," they both said. But almost immediately, they forgot about their previous shenanigans and jumped back up onto the bed.

"So what do you want for breakfast?"

"Anything's fine with me," Alice responded.

Yakko took her blue skirt (he had folded it for her) and tossed it across the room. She caught it and grinned.

"Thanks for letting me sleep in your bed," she said, finding her bow tucked safely in the folds of the skirt.

Yakko smiled. "Say, it's no problem," he assured her brightly, grabbing his belt and slacks from the dresser's open drawer. "Where do you want to go first?"

Alice tied her ears up with the bow and asked, "Where do you like it best?"

Yakko jumped into the air, spun around, and landed completely dressed and groomed. He pushed his ears out of his eyes and shrugged. "I like everywhere, mostly. ACME Labs is fun. I especially like Pinky. There's just something so… relatable, with him. Oh! And of course, you've got to meet Scratchy, so we'll visit him later. If you want, we can crash a movie set later. They're working on the last Hobbit movie. If you look closely in An Unexpected Journey, you can see Wakko dressed as a hobbit in the beginning."

Alice, still shocked at how Yakko dressed himself, shook her head and responded, "Oh, but that was shot in New Zealand."

"We took a cab."

Alice shook it off and held up her skirt quizzically. "Say, Yakko? How did you get dressed like that?"

Yakko turned around. "Oh," he exclaimed, "Just jump up and- uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… I don't know. It's just something you figure out. How do you store everything behind your back?"

"I have no clue."

"Exactly!"

Alice wrinkled her nose and jumped. She spun a few times and landed clumsily on her bottom. She looked down and was pleased to find that it had worked, even though her skirt was inside out.

Yakko grinned. "It was worth a try," he said with a shrug. "Come on out. We're having pancakes! That is, unless-,"

Just as he spoke, a blast, bang, clang, and explosion went off behind Yakko, scorching all the fur on his backside and sides. He stuck out his bottom lip and pouted.

"Wakko burns everything," he finished quietly.

Alice swallowed a laugh and ran past Yakko, screeching to a halt at the singed ruins of the kitchen before her.

Wakko stood, shell-shocked, over the scorching remains of a pan, his face fried, fur completely blasted back, and hat rim seared. Dot wasn't too far away, smashed upside-down on the wall, a charred spatula handle clasped in her hand. Syrup dripped down from the ceiling and created long, sugary webs around the cooked remains of the kitchen.

Yakko looked around observantly, his finger at his mouth thoughtfully. Finally, he said, "_Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh_… how about IHOP instead?"

* * *

Dr. Scratchansniff sat at his desk, a bright smile on his face. It was so quiet, serene, and, well, _normal_. The office's windows were opened wide to welcome in the familiar morning smells: freshly trimmed shrubs, gasoline from car fumes, and fresh paint from the prop design department across the way. The office had been sprayed down with coconut air freshener, and the cool breeze blew around the scents to create a familiar, wonderful smell to the doctor. His desk was tidied, and Hello Nurse had set out a pot of nice, hot coffee and copy of _Variety_ magazine just for him.

Outside, birds could be heard twittering in the sky. A bumbling, shaggy dog and slick gray cat strolled down the sunny white pavement outside, enjoying the crisp morning air. Three cooing pigeons fluttered by, and a shiny Porche glided through the studio gates.

Scratchansniff took a deep breath and sighed contently. "Such a beautiful mornink," he said to himself, sipping his coffee.

"HIYA SCRATCHY!"

"_AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!_"

The scalding hot coffee rained down onto the poor physiatrist's face and shirt, and he leapt up with a wild scream as the Warner siblings popped out of nowhere. He wiped his face off furiously and cried out, "Vat vas zat for, you stupid kidzez? Look vat you've done!"

"Ooh, sorry about that Scratchy!" Yakko exclaimed, grabbing the shrink's hand. "Let us clean you up. Wakko!"

Wakko pulled out his bag and dug around, casting out Batman, an Oscar Award, and a Dumbledore cardboard cutout before retrieving a washing machine. Yakko and Dot stuffed a screaming Dr. Scratchansniff into the machine, squirted in some soap, and slammed the door before he could escape. Yakko cranked it to heavy duty and the washing machine squealed to life, spinning the poor doctor around violently. The Warner siblings and Alice stood around patiently whistling until the washing machine stopped with a small ding. Then Dot pried the door open and pulled out Scratchansniff, sputtering and soapy.

Yakko grabbed him and twisted him up to squeeze out all the water, then hopped up to the window to air him out. He beat him into the air a few times before setting him down gently on the ground, red with fury.

The siblings leaned in and grinned brightly. "Better?"

"BETTER!" Scratchansniff shrieked, jumping up and down. The blast of his voice sent the toons flying back through the air, grasping wilding for anything to hold onto. They landed on their bottoms and shook their heads dizzily. "I vas havink a vunderful mornink before you three kidzez came un ruined it! I- what ze-?"

He pointed at each toon, counting under his breath, and when his finger landed on Alice, his eyes burst through his glasses in disbelief. He ducked down behind his desk with a wild scream, and peered out from behind it with a wild, frightened gaze. "Is… is zat..? That's- no! Zat is..!"

Yakko stood up and helped Alice to her feet. "Scratchy, we would like you to meet our dear friend and new colleague, Alice! Let's give Alice a round of applause, huh?"

Out of nowhere, a fabulously dressed audience sprang up, clapping and whistling wildly, and a spotlight came down on Alice, who waved and blew kisses and collected falling roses.

"Oh, it came true! ...Thank you all! I want to thank my mom, my dad, my cats, Larry Falkwell, the waitress at IHOP this morning, Adele Dazeem, my pet rock, the mom from _The Wish Kid_, Dwayne Toddleberry, my-,"

"I get it, I get it!" Scratchansniff cried, clutching his ears. The audience and spotlight disappeared. Alice took the roses and placed them sweetly in a vase on the desk.

Scratchansniff rubbed his eyes with his fists and continued staring in complete shock. "But… but where did you come from? How were you created?" he whispered.

Alice bowed her head and placed a gloved hand over her heart dramatically. "Well, some say the Lord made everything in seven days and nights, and others say Chuck Norris simply clapped and it appeared."

"No, no, no," Scratchansniff wrung his hands. "Where are you from?"

Alice blinked. "An inkpot."

Scratchansniff grabbed a pillow from the couch and screamed into it. The toons all glanced at each other and shook their heads.

Dot approached the poor doctor and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Cheer up, Scratchy. You're not the only crazy one here."

The doctor raised his head. "That's vat bothers me!" he cried. "I can't handle three of you kidzez. Vat am I goink to tell Mr. Plotz? He's goink to kill me!" He broke forth with a defeated sob.

Yakko rolled his eyes and strolled to the desk and held down on the speaker. A sugary voice answered sweetly. "Yes, Dr. Scratchansniff?"

Yakko coughed into his fist and said, "Please bring in some more coffee. Oh! And put on a little lipstick before you come in, huh?"

The line was silent for a moment, but then a reluctant, "Yes, Dr.," came through, and Yakko slammed down the phone.

Yakko grinned. "Say, Doc! Can you say 'hello' to our new friend? She's been dying to meet you. And she's not scary, you know. Baloney's scary. She's darling! Oh! And remember your manners!"

Scratchy looked up and Alice held out her hand. "How dooooooooo you do?" she replied in an elegant, gentle tone, curtseying politely.

Scratchy blinked and took her hand gingerly. He shook and replied, "Well, sank you. But you still haven't answered my quvestion."

Just then, the door opened and a tall, honey blonde sauntered in with a tray. She stooped down low, set down the tray on the desk, and smiled sweetly.

Yakko and Wakko, their tongues unraveling, jumped up and cried, "Hell_OOOOO_, Nurse!" They leapt and threw their arms around her, kissing her cheeks. She blushed slightly and squeezed them affectionately. She didn't even try to un-stick them anymore. Then she looked down and her eyes widened. Her mouth parted in considerable shock and horror, but no words came out. She glanced wild-eyed at Scratchansniff, who met her gaze with an understanding frown.

Alice walked up and held out her hand again. "Alice here," she replied politely, "And I'm guessing you are HellOOOOO, Nurse, right?"

The nurse's grasp on the boys loosened, and they slipped down to the floor, pouting. She stared down and whispered, "Yes. It- it's nice to meet you, Alex."

Alice grinned at Dot, who pulled a face. "It's Alice," she replied kindly, turning back to the nurse. "You look absolutely terrified."

Hello Nurse, petrified, still didn't move. Dot chimed in, "She's simple-minded."

Alice stuck out her lip disapprovingly, but smiled slightly. She turned to Scratchy. "To answer your question, I come from Reno, Nevada."

Scratchansniff looked up. "Nevada?"

Alice grunted impatiently. "It's not Nevaaadaaaaa, it's Nevaduh. We're Nevadans, we don't know what proper English is. So, Scratchy!" she jumped up into his lap, "What are we going to do?"

Scratchansniff stared at her incredulously. "Vat are we goink to do? You mean vat I'm goink to do! I'll tell you! I have to go un explain to Mr. Plotz about why zere is un new… sing terrorizing ze studio!"

Dot gasped. "What sing?" she shrieked, clutching Yakko's arm in terror. "Is he dangerous? Carnivorous? Murderous?"

Yakko held her close and said, "Is he gonna suck our blood? Mummify us? Dismember us and build mutant living dead zombies that obey his every command and devour his enemies?"

"It's Baloney, isn't it!" Wakko cried, jumping up and grabbing the ceiling fan desperately.

Alice screamed and curled up in Scratchansniff's lap. "Is the sing coming for us?" she whispered, "Is he going to sing 'Let it Go'?"

"NOOOOO!" Yakko and Dot screamed.

Scratchansniff repressed a scream and said, "Zere is no, I mean, I- oh, just forget it! Just… go away! Please. I don't have time for zis!"

Yakko crossed his arms and said, "Fine. Go away, then."

Scratchansniff crossed his arms as well and said, "I'm not goink anywhere! _You_ are leaving!"

Wakko blinked and leaned in sweetly. "No, we're standing right here."

"GO AWAAAAAAYYYY!" Scratchansniff screamed, pointing a shaking finger at the door and jumping up and down wildly.

The four toons filed out obediently, but not without stopping to kiss Hello Nurse (Yakko and Wakko, of course.)

Alice turned around just on the threshold of the room and called out, waving, "It was nice to meet you!"

* * *

"So, Siblings, where to next?" Yakko asked, looking around at the lot. "I say we visit Pinky and the Brain later, when the lab closes. Maybe they'll let us help with their whole 'taking over the world thing'."

"Ooh, Yakko! We should go see our pals down at Acme Acres!" Wakko cried, waving his arms around.

Yakko grinned brightly and scruffled Wakko's head. "Nice thinking!" he said, turning to Alice. "Are you game?"

"_HEY, YOU KIDSES! STOP WRIGHT DERE!_"

The toons whirled around and jumped in panic. "_RUN_!" Dot shrieked.

The four revved up their engines and tore off around the corner. "Acme Acres, it is!" Yakko said.

* * *

"So, this is Acme Acres," Alice said to herself, admiring the stretch of green before her. "Who'd have thought it was right behind the studio. Are you close to the toons over here?"

The siblings shrugged. "I visit Babs sometimes," Dot said. "I had a sleepover with her and her friend, Harriet a few times. They're really nice! Babs is like a sister. And she can do an impression of me!"

Yakko grinned. "She sounds more like you than you," he replied, receiving a scathing glare from his sister. He turned back and motioned for them to all walk. They cut across the grass and under the trees.

"I once took a semester in the Wisecracks 101 class that Buster takes. It's decent, but I'm older than the teacher, so it was just awkward."

"I had lunch with Hamton once," Wakko said, bouncing and swinging from tree limbs. "We had a nacho-cheese drinking competition. I won."

"But only because Hamton smudged his overalls and had to leave and dry clean them!" Dot said, rolling her eyes. "So, where are we going first? Alice?"

Alice grinned. "I like Plucky Duck," she said mildly. "May we visit him first?"

Yakko said, "Sure! If we can find him, that is. We can check his apartment building, and… Well, actually, I'll bet you everyone's together today…" He faltered slightly and glanced for a moment at Dot. She looked down at her feet and continued walking.

Alice was alarmed. What was wrong? She was going to ask, but Wakko's ears perked up, and he looked around curiously. Suddenly, he howled and pointed his nose down the slope of the hill on all fours, his tail sticking straight up in the air.

Dot peered down and exclaimed, "You're right! They're all down at the campus. Good boy, Wakko!" She tossed him a treat and he caught in his mouth, woofing and wagging his tail happily.

Yakko glanced down, stopping abruptly in his tracks, almost hesitant to go down, but he blinked it away and said cheerfully, "Come on, then, Siblings! Er- and Alice! Let's go!"

Yakko kart-wheeled down the hill gleefully, Wakko right behind him, his tongue flopping through the air. The others followed suite, rolling down through the crisp, long green grass with cries of laughter. They lurched to a halt at the bottom, and landed in a giggling pile. They sat up and their eyes met with the great red letters: ACME. Long stone stairs led up to the grand arch, statues of Daffy and Bugs standing watch on either side. And yet, there was nothing intimidating about it.

"Definitely not like a regular prison- I mean high school!" Alice remarked, barely suppressing her smile. She was still awful at cracking jokes and staying cool-headed about it. The others just shook their heads sympathetically.

Yakko stood up to brush himself off and said, "Ah, Acme Loo; The only place where you can get an A for being a total yutz."

"Did you get an A in the Wisecracks class?" Alice asked, brushing grass from her skirt.

Yakko laughed. "Old Man Bugsy gave me an A, but told me it was because I was an innate professional."

Alice grinned. "So where is everybody?"

Wakko perked up his ears again and said, "I think they're at the stadium. I can hear the school song. Ooh! Maybe there's a game today!"

"Come on, sibs!" Yakko said, waving for them. They skid around the side of the school and past the statues of cartoon legends, finding themselves at the entrance to the stadium. They strode up the clanking metal stairs, their ears ringing with the screams of cheering spectators and feedback from the announcer's microphone.

"I think Plucky's announcing the game," Yakko said, grinning. "Probably got too scared to play."

They emerged up in the bleachers, and blue and white-clad toons of every kind sat around, roaring and whooping as the cheerleaders finished, "_'Cause we're Toonsters, boop boop de boo!_"

The stands were alive up to the sky with white, blue, fireworks, whistles, cheers, top hats soaring through the air, and firing shotguns, common to a toon football game- or any toon event, for that matter. Of course, the other half of the stadium was alive with the cloaked Perfecto Prep fans, pompously observing the game with distaste. Their team stood hulking above the tiny, meek players on Acme Loo.

"Hey, look! It's Babs in front!" Dot squealed pointing at a lovely pink bunny down in the middle of the front row, shaking her pompoms gleefully.

"BABS! OVER HERE!" Dot screeched, receiving disapproving looks. She flailed around her arms, but among the roaring spectators, she couldn't be heard. Dot frowned and inhaled sharply…

"_BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABS!_"

The floodlights above their heads exploded, sending off wild sparks and zaps. The spectators around them jumped out of their seats, popcorn and soda flying everywhere. The band faded for a moment, and the horn blatted obnoxiously as the conductor was blown forward.

Babs heard and whirled around, alarmed. She saw Dot and waved her pompom excitedly, blowing kisses and fluttering her eyelashes at them.

Yakko grabbed Dot's shoulder and said, "Hey! There's a bunch of spots up there. You girls go on up, and Wakko and I will grab snacks."

Wakko, barely containing his excitement, jumped off down the way to the snack stand at the edge of the stadium.

Yakko sighed with a grin. "I gotta go catch up with him. You better save us seats!" he said, pointing a suspicious finger at Dot. "See you in a minute!" He gleefully ran off after Wakko.

Dot and Alice waved and ran up the steps to the top row of bleachers. They bounced around and sat lightly. They had a perfect view of the field below. Then the announcer spoke, and Alice grinned. It was Plucky.

"Hello, folkths!" he cried, the feedback from the microphone unbearable, "Welcome to the game, blah, blah, blah… I - _HEY!_ You get outta here, you attention- grubbing hog! This ish _my_ gig! _GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT, MOM!_" He laughed nervously into the mic and continued, "I am your announsher thish evening, sho feel free to applaud, hehe… Okay folksh, wasn't that a _thtirring_ performance of our shchool shong? Our cheerleaders have shuch talent, especially Shirley."

The crowd hissed disapprovingly at the duck. Dot laughed and said, "So you like Plucky, huh?"

Alice grinned. "He's selfish, but in a funny way. Say, Dot?"

Dot looked up from her gloved nails. "What?"

"Is Yakko okay?"

Dot was silent. "Oh, that… um, he's fine. He's just… He's fine. He's just having a bad day. Hormones, you know?"

Alice dropped it, seeing Dot's disappointed face.

Just then, the Warner brothers jumped up the stairs, holding big buckets of popcorn and cups of soda. They sat down next to the girls and passed around the buckets.

"Well, who knew we'd be at a football game today," Yakko said observantly, looking around contently. Wakko nodded, his cheeks bulging.

Alice grinned. "What's with you, Wakko?"

Wakko stared guiltily. A small black strand poked out of his nose. Alice recoiled in horror. "What is _that?_"

Wakko looked down in alarm. He grabbed it and pulled it out. It was a long strand of licorice. The others gagged in disgust. Wakko grinned, and gummy licorice stuck out of his teeth and bulged in his cheeks.

Dot wrinkled her noise and cried, "Dis-_gusting!_"

All of a sudden the crowd grew silent. Plucky snorted, coughed, and wheezed into the mic.

"Now folksh, I would like to… _sigh_… hand over the mic to our teacher, friend, and… hero- Bugs Bunny."

"Bugs?" Alice cried, shocked as the tall gray rabbit took the mic from a fuming Plucky.

"What's up, Docs?" Bugs said lazily, and the crowd cheered. "Some turnout, huh? I didn't think so many toons would come, but I guess I expected more of you and figured you all had lives." The crowd roared with laughter and someone set off a firecracker, causing the horn player to go flying backwards off the bleachers and land with a blat at the bottom.

"As you know, folks, today is a very important day," Bugs continued.

The crowd seemed to stop moving. Alice looked down at the Warner Siblings, who sat tensely. Yakko was obviously upset, but he tried to appear cool-headed. Dot sat, hugging her tail uncomfortably. Wakko had actually stopped eating.

"On September 14th, 1989, 25 years ago, two great toons were born. Exactly one year later, they came out with a show that brought our darling little Warner Brothers Studio back into the spotlight. Hem, hem, that is, until _Space Jam_, but what can a fella do? But that ain't the point.

"The show was just great, and losing it was almost as hard as losing the first show we was all in."

The crowd hung their heads at these words, and something in Alice's throat tightened. She felt a sudden urge to run away.

Bugs smiled halfheartedly. "But!" he exclaimed, waking the crowd from their sad thoughts, "What's it to anybody? We's all still adored, ain't we?"

The crowd nodded slowly.

"And we all still got talent, don't we?"

The crowd brightened, and some spectators clapped. The cheerleaders squealed and waved their pompoms.

"And we's all still the pioneers in golden animation, ain't we?" Bugs shouted, and the crowd roared, throwing up top hats and waving flags.

"So, we got something special to do before the game starts," Bugs said, grinning lazily. "You all had better still know the words, alright!" He leaned out the window, still holding the mic and a carrot in the other. "Hey, gang, you ready? Well then, come on out, fellas!"

The band began playing a marvelously familiar tune, and the whole stadium was on its feet in an instant, shrieking and clapping and whistling chaotically. The colorful circle came down in the center of the field, and two familiar faces popped out.

"We're tiny!"

"We're toony!"

WE'RE ALL A LITTLE LOONEY!" the crowd screamed, applauding wildly.

Before their eyes, Babs, Buster, Plucky, Hampton, Furrball, Max, Elmerya, and all the rest were out on the field, singing better than ever before, and it seemed that the whole stadium was empowered by the energy and happiness of the Tiny Toons cast.

Alice couldn't help grinning, but was still bothered by Yakko's behavior. Did he not want to come because it was Tiny Toon's anniversary? Alice was quite sure that that was the reason. But she wasn't going to jump to conclusions. She would just have to wait.

* * *

"Wow! I still can't believe how that turned out!" Wakko cheered, bouncing across the rows.

The others followed him down to the field. They were going to meet up with Babs and Buster. There was a huge party going on all across Acme Acres in celebration of the show's anniversary, and the Warner siblings wanted to congratulate them before they left.

"Me neither," Dot said. "I didn't expect Buster to drop the anvil on the poor kid. I thought it was funny when that fat kid sat on Furrball!"

They all roared with laughter as they hopped down from the bleachers. They landed in the soft rubber below. Dizzy had completely churned the field, and it was no longer green, but rather smoking remains of rubber beads and shreds of grass. Of course, being a field for toons, everything else was also destroyed. Floodlights were zapping and shattered, the scoreboard was bend in half, and fireworks were still going off in random directions.

"Looks like they let IceJJFish in," Yakko pointed out as they walked across the field.

Dot shook her head. "Or Miley Cyrus. Make your pick!"

Alice giggled. "I'm going with IceJJFish. At least he's funny. And this is a K-rated fanfiction."

"DOT!"

They all looked up to see a pink flash- and Dot was down on the ground. Babs squeezed her tightly and lifted her up quickly. "What are you doing here?" she squealed happily.

"Visiting you, silly goose!" Dot giggled, hugging back.

Yakko grinned. "You guys should look in to having your squeakers removed."

Babs let go of Dot and sent him a look. Then she replied, "That's too kind. Buster'll be here in a minute. I know he'll be thrilled to see you! I- oh!"

Babs' eyes darkened to a red color, and small fangs appeared in the corners of her mouth. It seemed as though the field darkened. "Vat have we here?" she asked in low voice, evil glinting in her eyes as she looked at Alice.

Alice gulped. "I'm Alice," she replied.

Babs dropped the Dracula impersonation and held out her gloved hand sweetly. "Babs here. Nice to meet you! Where you from?"

"Reno."

"Ooh, not very interesting. Well, I'm sure you've got your hands full now!" Babs said to the Warner siblings. "What's old Plotzy Wotzy make of it?"

"Don't know, don't care," Wakko said.

Yakko shook his head. "Not quite," he said, grinning. "I want to see his reaction."

Alice wrinkled her nose. "What am I, a tarantula?"

Yakko shrugged. 'You're more of a flea. But that's not important. Where's the shindig tonight?"

Babs sighed. "Just the gym, where we have dances. But parties are going on everywhere. This is the biggest thing that's happened here since 'The Looney Tunes Show', and Bugs wasn't too happy about the facelift and the fact that he had to play the series' straight man. So that was more of a bomb than a celebration. Daffy didn't mind it too much, though. He got to actually torment Bugs, which made him happy. Oh! Dot! I forgot to tell you!"

Dot jumped up and down and squealed, "What? What? What?"

Babs grinned widely. "Tressy wrote a letter to me. She said that she hoped I got it and that she we were all okay. She told me to tell you 'hi'."

Dot grinned broadly and fluffed her ears. "Tell her that I miss her and love her, okay?"

Babs smiled. "Sure thing. Just wanted you to know. I was so happy about that, I- oh, hey, Buster! Good game today! You were the best one out there!"

Babs ran up, pulling off his helmet. "Ugh, thanks. We had to take pictures in the locker room. That stunk worse than Plucky's announcing. Hey, Animaniacs ahoy! What are you doing here?"

The Warner siblings all smiled simultaneously, as common to their fashion, and Yakko replied, "We came to see you! Happy anniversary, Pal!"

Buster grinned and shook his hand. "Thanks. Yakko. I'm just looking forward to a vacation. I'm getting worn out with all these games. It's draining the blue outta my fur."

"You look more blue than ever," Alice remarked with a buck-toothed grin.

Buster turned and stared in disbelief, and instead of answering, he asked Yakko not-so-silently, "Who's the broad?"

Alice blushed. "Oops! The name's Alice. I'm new."

Buster wiggled his eyebrows. "I'll say! You're an updated model. Erm- Nice to meet you! And eh, to answer your question, my fur is naturally blue."

"This has been another-," BAM, "Useless fact," Yakko replied as the giant stone letters dropped down onto the field with a crash.

"Nice to meet you, too. And I never asked you a question," Alice answered, smiling.

Buster grinned. "Eh, I'm assuming someone would ask it. L'Oreal doesn't have a thing on me." He fluffed his ears playfully.

"Hey, listen, buster, I'm the cute one!" Dot said, pointing an accusing finger.

"No more puns on my name, okay, Spot?" Buster said, grinning.

Dot stuck out her bottom lip and responded, "Ditto!"

Buster rolled his eyes and glanced at the others. "Say, guys, ya wanna come with us down to Weenie Burger?" he asked, wiping sweat from his fur.

"But what about the party?" Alice asked.

The Bunnies and Warner siblings glanced at each other, and something obviously unsure was exchanged between Yakko and Buster.

Babs smiled faintly. "Nobody will miss us," she said, wringing out her ears. "And anyway, Plucky and Hamton and the rest of the gang are down there meeting us. We'll have plenty of time tonight for parties, once the fireworks start. We're partying all night! It'll be swell, if you want to come!"

Yakko smiled. "We'd love to, but we're on a schedule, and we just can't skip our visit to old Plotz! It'd break his poor, shriveled, nonexistent heart."

Buster grinned. "Then come on to Weenie's, and we'll beat the post-game crowd!"

* * *

"Hey, fellas, Hamton and the gang are at there at that back booth!" Buster said, pointing. "Go sit with them and we'll order!"

Wakko cried, "15 triples for me, with extra cheese!"

"But what about the money?" Yakko asked, crossing his arms.

Buster pounded his chest. "Money is not a problem! …Hey, Yakko, can I borrow $20 bucks?"

Yakko rolled his eyes at Buster and handed him the money. "Thanks!" he cried, hopping off to the back of the long line.

Babs grabbed Dot's hand and pulled her through the packed people standing around and they all followed her to the booth. Hamton, Furrball, Elmyra, and Shirley were sitting around, jabbering over the table. Shirley looked up and screeched, "Look who it is! It's Babs!" Everyone began to talk over each other, congratulating her.

Then Hamton said, "Hi there, Wakko! What are you all doing here?" He scooted over and Wakko plopped down next to him.

"We came to see you guys!" he said, inviting himself to help eat Furrball's fries.

Shirley rolled her eyes and said, "Like, Plucky is late, so like, yeah. Hey, Yakko, right?"

Yakko grinned dorkily and slid over next to Shirley with a cocked eyebrow. "You're sending off good vibes, babe."

Shirley rolled her eyes, but blushed considerably.

"By the way, fellas, I'd like you to meet Alice, our new special friend!" Yakko took Alice's hand and sat her down, then plopped down next to her. He leaned back and kicked his feet up on the table, grinning devilishly.

Shirley closed her eyes and murmured, "Funny… thoughtful… loud…" She opened her eyes and said, "Like, hi. I'm Shirley. I sense that you are shy here, meeting us, so like, chill out. Let your inner toon show!"

Alice couldn't control herself and let out a bark of laughter through pursed lips. "Just a little bit. I'm just… finding my groove…" She looked hopefully at Wakko, who swallowed a giggle. Soon, the both of them were immaturely laughing, causing everyone else to eye Shirley with laughter sitting in their mouths.

Yakko grinned. "That'll make the blooper reel," he remarked as Dot put away a camcorder.

Hamton held out his hand and said, "Hi! My name's Hamton! Where did you come from?"

"Nice to finally meet you!" Alice said, shaking his hand. "I'm a big fan. And I'm from Nevada."

Hamton wiped his hands of with a wipe and replied, "That's out in the mountains, about 3,543 feet higher in altitude than us, and while as here we have an average of 21% humidity, you only have a current average of 12%. That's dry! How's the weather?"

Alice shrugged, glancing at Yakko with shock. "Uh… hot?"

Yakko inspected his nails. "Because I'm here. Hamton, you flatter me!"

Hamton missed the joke completely and continued, punching numbers into a calculator, "Well, It's due to the extreme drought happening along the Rocky's edges this year, and according to…"

They let him continue to talk and Elmyra squealed, "Hey, Yakko, you want to sit with me and snuggle wuggle?"

Yakko coughed. "_Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh_, how do I say it? It's not that I wouldn't like to… I'd just rather have a tympanoplasty."

"Faboo!" Wakko said, swallowing the final mouthful of Furrball's fries.

"Come and get it!" Buster said cheerfully, teetering his way through the crowd and to the booth with piles of Weenie burgers and fries. The others slid the leftover debris off the side of the table and into Wakko's mouth, and Buster set down the toppling pile hastily.

"Pass everything around, huh?" he said, sliding in next to Babs, who blushed.

Just then, a cluster of loud cries sounded among the packed toons in the restaurant, some jumping as a small figure pushed through their legs.

"Comin' through, comin' through! Outta my way, Granny!" a shrill voice screeched.

Babs rolled her eyes. "That'd be Plucky," she sighed.

"The one and only!" Plucky cried, jumping akimbo out from the crowd of people. "I- _HEY_! What's the big idea?" He grabbed Yakko and yanked him from out of the booth and slid in to nestle with Shirley, who groaned.

"Hey there, Baby!" Plucky said, trying to slip his arm around Shirley's hunched shoulders. She slapped his arm away, and he coughed hopefully. "Er, did you hear my announcing?"

"I don't think anyone did, because it caused us all to go deaf," Buster said into his fist.

Plucky glared, and Dot said, "Hey, you can't blame a guy for being honest!"

"Listen up, you little punctuation mark!" Plucky screeched, "I have talent! I'd like to shee you do what I do!"

"You mean like chickening out of a game?" Yakko suggested, sitting down with Alice.

"Yesh- I mean no!" Plucky bellowed, and the whole table erupted with laughter. Plucky crossed his arms in a pout.

Dot had her camcorder out again. "This blooper reel is going to be great!" she assured Yakko, who winked at her approvingly.

Alice leaned in across the table and patted Plucky's arm kindly. She fluttered her eyelashes at him and said, "Come, now Plucky, we're laughing _with_ you, not _at_ you!"

"But I'm not laughing!" Plucky cried, scrunching his face tighter.

Alice glanced at the faces around the table and said, "Oh. Well, it's the thought that counts."

Plucky bit into his burger and choked through his food, "I'm shick 'n tired of gamesh, anyway!"

"Why?" Alice asked, picking up her burger.

"Because we've been shtuck in shchool for the pasht million yearsh!" Plucky snarled, spitting food everywhere.

"What do you mean?" Alice asked, glancing at Buster.

"We have school- and a football season- every year, and it's been 20-something years since the show ended."

"Then why don't you just move on?" Alice asked gently.

Buster smiled slightly. "See, it don't work like dat, 'zactly. Since no one's animating the show no more, we don't progress, neither. We're just kind of stuck on pause."

Alice blushed again. "I'm sorry," she said, holding out her hands.

Buster grinned and said, "Hey, don't worry about it! All good things gotta end someday!"

Alice giggled. "We sure wish they didn't, though."

Buster shrugged. "Doubt anybody remembers us any more."

"Or us," Dot added.

Alice waved her hands. "Oh, no, no, no! Everyone does! My creator loves Tiny Toons and Animaniacs and Freakazoid- all of you- and at her high school, she sang 'Yakko's World' once in her choir class, and the teacher and about six of the girls remembered the show! And her best friend and she watch 'Pinky and the Brain' together! And a bunch of people that work in her dad's office grew up on your shows, too!"

Buster cocked an eyebrow at her. "How do you know that?"

Alice blushed. "I have her thoughts," she said shyly, avoiding the confused eyes on her.

"Like, telepathic?" Shirley brightened, leaning across the table and listening intently.

"Or psychopathic," Yakko muttered, elbowing Buster with a grin.

"She made me," Alice said. "I've got a little part of her in my heart, and soul, and a little bit of my elbow."

"Like, crazy connection!" Shirley cried, biting into her burger.

"You might want to have that checked out," Babs said. "Sounds dangerous, like 'Sixth Sense' or something."

"Wait- people still watch us?" Wakko interrupted.

"All of you are still famous!"

The toons all glanced around at each other, unsure of what to believe.

Babs glanced at Dot, and the two smiled. "It's a nice thought," she said, staring off at no particular place.

"I'd sure like to have one more episode," Hamton said, wiping his face. "Imagine all the fun!"

"Ooh!" Elmyra cooed, "I'd LOOOOOOVE to do an episode, toooooooo! With extra fluffy puppy-wuppies and kitty- witties and little birdies and flowers and rainbows and we'd all dance and sing and the crowd would cheer for us again, like they used to!"

"Oh, I'd love to do another movie," Dot said dreamily, "A sequel, all about me!"

"Ooh, a new movie? Yesh! 'The Plucky Duck Shtory'! I can shee it now, up in lightsh! My wingprintsh on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!" Plucky cried, spitting food across the table, waving his hands about.

Alice said, "You all should make a special together! I'll bet Steven would love to do it!"

"Nah, he wouldn't, "Buster said, finishing his burger. "The producers would throw in a bunch of nutty celebrities and next thing you know I'll be voiced by Usher and Anne Hathaway will be Babs."

"And with all this 'politically correctness' junk nowadays, we wouldn't have any good jokes to tell," Yakko said, staring at his folded hands.

Alice stared at her lap, biting her lip. "I don't think Steven would do something like that to you all. I mean, you mean so much to him and the producers that I doubt they'd trash you like that."

"Times are different," Hamton sighed.

"I don't think people would even come to see us," Elmyra said, gulping down the last bite of her burger and grabbing Furrball to snuggle with.

Alice was about to finish hers when she saw Yakko pushing his half-eaten burger away. She squinted in concern and placed a soft hand on his under the table, but he glanced at her abruptly and pulled away, uncertainty written plainly on his face. But he smiled again at his friends around the table, trying to hide it.

Alice shrunk back into the booth and listened to the jokes and the stories everyone had about the 'good old days', as they put it. But they weren't so old.

* * *

"Well, fellas, that was fun!" Yakko said, shaking Buster's hand as they all stood outside the restaurant.

"Are you sure you can't come? It'll be a swingin' party!" Babs said, hugging Dot tightly.

"I really wanna come, Yakko!" Dot said, flashing wide, sparkling eyes and a sad, adorable pout at her big brothers.

Yakko crossed his arms and cried in a heavy French accent, "Your treecks weell not work on ze likes of moi!"

"Aw, come on, Yakko!" Dot and Wakko cried, grabbing his arms. "WE WANNA GO! WE WANNA GO!"

Babs coughed and strode up with a monocle and smoking jacket on. "If you cannot show tonight due to complications, there shall be frivolities occurring throughout the coarse of the week. Please do consider."

The Warner Siblings and Alice glanced at each other and said at the same time, "Will do, good miss!"

Babs dropped the act and hugged them all again. She went to Alice and said, "It was nice to meet you! Good to have a new one of you around- these three are getting boring."

"Hey! No fair!" the others yelled, acting offended.

Yakko winked at Babs and said, "Well, it was fun! Have a great time tonight! Don't let Plucky have too much sugar, either!"

Buster rolled his eyes with a grin. "Eh, maybe if we give him enough, he'll bounce off the edge of a cliff."

"Don't jinx it!" Alice said, and the two Bunnies (no relation) walked away, laughing wildly.

"Come along Siblings and Alice!" Yakko said, bolting down the path to the studio.

"Gee, Alice, they really like you!" Wakko said, straightening his cap.

"Thanks, Wakko," Alice said. "They're not half-bad themselves. So, we're going to see Pinky and the Brain?"

"The bathroom first," Yakko said as they ran over the crest of the hills.

"Why?" Dot asked, squinting at Yakko curiously.

"Because that Weenie burger didn't hit it off very well with my stomach," Yakko said.

The other three toons glanced at each other, and suddenly, their stomachs crunched like concrete. They simultaneously turned a pea-green and their cheeks bulged.

"Wait for us!" Wakko cried, and they chased after Yakko, towards the water tower on the horizon.


	4. Let it NARF!

HellOOOOO, Nurses!

I know I've been really bad at submitting stories, huh? I've just been so busy, and I rarely get to write anymore. But I got this week off for a holiday, so I've finished three chapters that I'm going to have uploaded hopefully by Friday. I hope you enjoy this! I just couldn't write an Animaniac fanfiction without throwing in a Pinky and the Brain segment. I hope you enjoy! NARF!

* * *

"Okay, just wait until she comes out," Yakko whispered, tying his red mask around his head. His head popped out from behind the car, and after his came Wakko's, then Dot's, Then Alice's.

"Say, Yakko, what are you standing on?" Alice asked her brow furrowing.

Yakko peered down at his little brother, who was trembling under the weight. "Uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh… nobody…"

They waited around in their black body suits and colored masks- Alice in purple, Dot in blue, and Wakko in orange, respectively, and Alice quietly hummed the 1987 theme song as they waited.

Just then, the laboratory door opened and the scientist stepped out with her key at the ready.

"Go! Go! Go!" Yakko hissed, and Wakko popped a gumball in his mouth and launched it across the parking lot. It hit the side of a Subaru with a clang and the scientist whirled around to see where the noise came from. The four toons raced from their hiding spot and army crawled and back-flipped through the door, just before the woman turned back around.

"Now that's odd…" she said to herself, locking the door and shaking her head.

"Bingo!" Alice said, peeling off the suit and brushing herself off.

"The masks were a nice touch, Alice," Dot said, admiring hers, "But blue really isn't my color."

"Well, I'm the smart one, so the purple mask is mine!" Alice said, winking.

"I'm the smart one, too," Yakko said.

"Red was a tribute!" Alice snapped.

Yakko rolled his eyes. "Well, we're in!" he said, looking around. "Now we just have to find the mice."

"Say Yakko?" Wakko asked, tugging on his brother's arm. "Since we're locked in, how are we supposed to get out?"

"_Uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh_… I don't know, a vent or something like that. Just think: What would Tom Cruise do?" Yakko responded, motioning for them to follow him. He strode back to the swinging doors of the lab and the four toons peered through the window, just in time to see Brain unlocking the cage. They burst in just as it swung open.

"They're Pinky and the Brain!

They're Pinky and the Brain!

One is a genius! The other's insane!"

They finished the theme song when the Brain snapped, "Well, it's been awhile since you've done that! You're 16 years late! What's this about?"

"Well, Brain, this is Alice, our new special friend," Yakko said, motioning for Alice to step forward.

"I'm a fan, Mr. Brain," Alice said, shaking his tiny paw between her two large fingers. "I'd love to be a citizen of a world ruled by you. Heehee."

"Well, Alice," Brain said, wiping his hands off, "It's nice to see someone appreciate my works and still be fully aware that I am indeed a lab mouse. But tell me- where did you come from?"

"Reno, Nevada," Alice answered.

"Ah, Nevada- Home of the Hoover Dam, Lake Tahoe, and $5 weddings. Surely, taking over the world in such a barbaric place would be an easy feat. But until another time- for tonight, my plan shall be triumphant, and I will take over the world!"

"What's the scoop?" Alice asked, leaning in.

"Come along," he said, leading her across the counter. "And you three!" he said, pointing a pink finger at the Warner siblings, "Behave yourselves, or I shall have to hurt you."

"Aye-aye, Captain Brain!" the Warner sibling cried with a salute.

"Good! Now-,"

"OI, BRAIN! YOOOOO-HOOOO!"

The Brain's face fell into frustrated lines at the sound of his carefree cagemate.

"Hello, Pinky," he sighed.

"Oi, Brain! So what's the plan tonight? I thought we- Oh! 'ello there! POIT! Who are you?" Pinky asked gazing up at Alice with a bright, buck-toothed smile.

"Alice here!" she said, taking the little white mouse up in her hands and smiling happily. "Do you mind if I hug you?" she asked, thrilled.

Pinky cackled with glee and squeezed himself. "Kay! ZORT!" He laughed some more as she held him close and light, and he clambered up onto her red nose clumsily.

"Are you helping us take over the world?" he asked, dangling his feet happily. "Can she, Brain? Can she? Pleeeeaaaaaase?"

Alice grinned so all her white teeth showed, and Brain sighed at his friend's innocent, simple-mindedness.

"Of course. Come this way, and I shall show you my plan!"

He led them to a chalkboard, where he had mapped out a carefully-organized scheme.

"This, as you can see, is the world," Pinky said, pointing at a map with a stick of chalk. "And- hey! Yakko! No more with that infernal song!"

Yakko put away the tasseled cap with a sigh.

"And as you can see, this is a list of the highest-ranking songs currently on the top charts," Brain continued, motioning at a graph nearby. "For the past 11 months, seven weeks and two days, 'Let it Go' has been the highest-ranking song in the world. And on this map, I have charted the song's rating of popularity by country."

"Sooo, what does it all mean?" Wakko asked, bored.

"It means that earworm is the world's most contagious disease?" Yakko suggested.

"Yes! And do you know what that means?" Brain asked.

"That was my question," Wakko said.

"It means that social media is today's most dominating endeavor!" Brain said impatiently, "And with a smash like 'Let it Go', one can quickly and simply convey a simple message to billions of worldwide listeners in mere seconds! Pinky! Are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

"Um, I fink so Brain, bu' how is Kim going to tell Kanye how she really feels?" Pinky asked.

SMACK!

The chalk came down on Pinky's head, and he laughed wildly.

"No, Pinky, it means that we are going to make a hit record with a groundbreaking music video!" Brain cried.

Pinky whooped and clapped his hands. "Ooh, Brain, marvelous thought! I'd love to- Oh, wait, no, no…"

"What is it this time?" Brain cried, throwing his hands up in the air impatiently.

"What if it doesn't become famous?"

"He's got a point there," Yakko said, "But if you want, we can call up Randy. He wrote a few little ditties for me, and I'm sure he can come with something for you!"

"No, no, no!" Brain cried, "Absolutely not! I have the perfect song that we will use. Pinky- you will be the star of the video, Lord help us all, and the rest of you can help with sets and costumes!"

"Ooh, I'm the makeup artist and visual designer!" Dot cried, jumping up and down and bolting off. "I'll be at Dior if anyone needs me!"

Wakko grinned, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. "Can I be stunt mouse?" he asked.

Brain glared at him. "There is no 'stunt mouse'," he said in a mock Scouse accent, and Wakko frowned.

"Okay, then," he said thoughtfully. "I'll be your cameraman, and your prop designer! Faboo!"

"Perfect! Yakko- you're skilled with the instruments, aren't you?"

"Oh, you!" Yakko cooed, giggling shyly.

"You can orchestrate the pieces with Wakko! And Alice, about you-,"

"I play a few instruments as well," she said helpfully, "And I can whip up a few costumes. How many do you need?"

"Good, then! And I only need one. Here's a picture of it for you." Brain passed her a slip of paper and she gasped.

"Brain… you're kidding me."

"What? What is it?" Yakko and Wakko asked together, peering over her shoulders. At the same time, they looked up quizzically at The Brain.

"_Really?_"

* * *

"Well, Pinky, how does it fit?" Alice asked, waiting patiently as the little mouse changed behind the bookshelf.

"Ooh, Alice, I feel all fluttery and magical!" Pinky cried, leaping from behind the shelf in the shimmering blue lace. "I have ice powers, Alice! NARF!" He burst into raucous laughter and Alice sighed.

"Well then, who am I to judge?" she replied, taking the mouse into her hand gently. "Come on, we're shooting right now."

They approached the mini-winter wonderland, complete with ice castle (courtesy of Wakko and a power drill) and snow (courtesy of Dot and a bag of powdered sugar).

Brain admired their work and said, "Now, Pinky do you remember your lyrics?"

"Aye, Brain!" Pinky giggled, ogling himself in the mirror.

"HellOOOOO, Elsa!" the Warner Brothers cried, receiving a scathing look from The Brain.

The Brain snapped his riding crop and said, "Now! Let us begin! And Wakko- don't forget to roll the tape!"

"Faboo!" Wakko said, pulling a gookie behind the director's back.

"'Let it Go' cover take one!" Alice said, snapping the clapper.

"More like 'take cover'," Yakko grumbled under his breath.

"And… ACTION!"

The beautiful composition began to play, and Pinky emerged over the crest of powered sugar snow, his hands clasped girlishly.

Yakko leaned over and whispered in Alice's ear, "Your dulcimer was a nice touch."

"Thanks!" she whispered back. "Your violin wasn't half bad, either."

"And you play the piano almost as well as me," Yakko said with a grin.

Alice smothered a belt of laughter. "Thanks. And your ego is almost as subtle as John Travolta's."

Yakko gave her shoulders a squeeze. "Aw, you're just a doll!"

"And cue snow!" Brain hissed into a megaphone.

"Oh wait, sorry... what that me?" Dot said, looking up from her copy of _Variety_.

"Cut!'' Brain snapped angrily.

"Um, Brain, does my makeup look alright? I'm feeling a little more smokey on my eyelids would really help the effect, _TROZ_!"

"Quiet, Pinky!" Brain said. "Now listen up, you four! We have to focus if we want to be done before the sun rises! Come on then, take two!"

Alice snapped the clapper. "Take two! And- ACTION!"

Pinky sauntered over the crest of snow, a forlorn look upon his face as he began.

Dot sat, bored, pulling faces behind The Brain's back, causing Alice and Yakko to snicker under their breaths. Of course, their noises caught The Brain's attention, and he turned around and glared at them. They turned away before he could look, whistling off into space.

"You two shut it!" Brain whispered.

"Shut what?" Alice asked.

Brain bit his finger to keep from screaming, and he hissed through his teeth, "_Your big mouths!_"

He turned just in time for the chorus, and called to Dot, "Okay, cue snow!"

Dot took the sifter and shook it, but nothing came out.

"CUT! CUT! CUT!" Brain called, and Pinky stopped singing mid-note.

"Egad, Brain, you're purple! HAHA!" Pinky giggled, "And Brain? I don't think I felt it that time, but I promise I can do better! I- Brain?"

"Where's the snow?" Brain asked, frustrated.

Dot check the sifter and shrugged. "I have no idea!"

Wakko burped, and a cloud of white powder burst from his mouth.

"Wakko!" Dot yelled, throwing the sifter and pouting. "You ate all the snow!"

"No, I ate the powdered sugar."

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Brain screamed, flying off the side of the counter.

The rest of them peered over the edge.

"Don't worry, I'll go get some more!" Alice called. "Hey, Yakko?"

Yakko sighed and handed her the money.

She gave him a quick smile. "Thanks. Be back in a jiffy!"

* * *

"Okay, take 76!" Alice sighed, snapping the clapper once more. Wakko sat in the corner, sucking his red thumb. She had let him say, 'ACTION!' and he smashed his finger on take 37, and hadn't interrupted since. But it had taken much longer than it should have. The ice structure melting hadn't been particularly helpful, either.

Alice fell back with a yawn onto the counter and Yakko leaned up against her.

"How about after this we eat and THEN see T.P?"

"How about a nap?" Alice grumbled, eyeing the big-headed mouse behind his back.

Brain was slouched in his chair, the megaphone dangling pathetically in his hand. He raised it to his mouth and yawned, "Cue snow..."

The snow fell, and Pinky twirled through the flurry for a grand finale.

"Let it NARF!

Let it NARF!

Brain's plan will be unfurled!

Let it NARF!

Let it NARF!

Brain will take over the world!

He'll MAKE the earth

A BET-ter place

Let The Brain take CHAAAAAAAAAAARGE!

Whoever liked this song anyway? _Poit_!"

"What's with the last line?" Alice asked The Brain.

"I want to relate to my future citizens on a believable level," he explained, and she nodded.

"I truly admire your empathy."

* * *

Once they had finished shooting, retaking (47 takes on the last note), and editing, the video was up on Youtube.

"And now," Brain said, "We wait until morning, and we see what the people of the world think of my message."

"Thanks for letting us help!" Alice said.

"Of course," Brain replied kindly, "I'm sure it is a true honor to help aid a young dreamer in the act of world domination."

"Uh-huh. You have fun in therapy," Yakko said. "Well, Pinky, you looked- indescribable."

"You fink so, Yakko?" he asked, blushing.

"Sure. Whatever. Let us know when you overthrow the world, huh? And give us time to sort out our affairs before the world goes into chaos."

The Warner siblings waved goodbye as they slipped their colored masks back on and cut a hole in the wall. Then, they slipped away, fast as shadows in the night.

"I'm telling you, Pinky, they're insane," Brain said as he waited patiently at the computer for the first 'like'.

"Whatever you say, Brain! NARF!"


	5. Trapped

HellOOOOO, Nurses! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I enjoyed writing it immensely, despite the situation. Please let me know what yu think! NARF!

* * *

The receiver rang. The grumbling CEO snatched up the phone and barked, "What? What is it now? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"_Mr. Plotz, Dr. Scratchansniff is here to see you_."

Plotz growled, "_That screwball_… Alright, send him in!"

The golden-red sun was setting behind the water tower, leaving a looming shadow across the white-tiled office and oak desk, where the squat man sat, grinding his pen into a notepad anxiously.

The door creaked open, and a small voice came. "Mr. Plotz?"

"What? What do you want, Scratchansniff?" Plotz barked, flipping his computer open violently. He looked up and snarled, "Well, don't just _STAND_ out there, come in!"

The timid doctor inched into the office, clasping his hands as if in prayer. "Mr. Plotz?" he said, "Zere is somesink I must talk to you about. It's… _gulp_… very important."

"Of course it is," Plotz growled, rolling his eyes.

"I hate to be ze bearer of bad news... er, I'll tell you tomorrow!"

"Sit down already!" Plotz yelled, furiously typing.

Scratchansniff obediently sat down, hanging his head miserably. "It's about ze Warner siblings," Scratchansniff said carefully, avoiding looking at the beastly little man.

"What about them now? They finally disappeared? About time, too" Plotz grumbled, angrily banging down on one stuck key.

Scratchansniff wiped sweat from his brow. "No, no, zey aren't gone… but, Mr. Plotz, you've known me for years, and you know how hard I work for zis studio… and it's my home, and it's like my family is here, and I respect you and sink of you as a… erm… brother? Vell, anyvay, you know I've tried my best for zis place and my patients, for zem to be okay, and I am almost alvays successful. Please, you know zat, don't you, Mr. Plotz?"

"If you call asking people 'what they're feeling' hard work," Plotz mumbled, jotting down a note. "What are you getting at, Scratchansniff? What about the Warner kids? If they're not escaped, what are they, dead?"

"Erm, no. I- I don't know how to t-tell you zis… and I know you von't be happy, but… zere… z-zere is un other… un… un…"

"OUT WITH IT ALREADY!" Plotz screamed, slamming his hammy fists down on his poor computer.

"Zere is un other one!" Scratchansniff burst out, terrified.

_SMASH_.

The computer hit the ground and smashed apart on the flawless white tile, pieces flying slowly through the frozen air, the deadly sound echoing through the silent room. It was as though the earth had stopped turning.

Plotz's twitching eyes raised, burning holes through the poor doctor's soul. A sound escaped his motionless lips… "_Another?_"

The black irises grew wide, the trembling mouth fumbling with words it couldn't utter, the skin boiling into a terrifying red. The hand holding the expensive pen clenched, and the pen snapped. Black ink splatted across the spotless papers, the beautiful polished oak, the shimmering white tile. The doctor shuddered, imagining his neck making the same noise.

"_Another?_ Another? _ANOTHER?_ _SCRATCHANSNIIIIIIIFF!_"

The CEO threw the heavy oak desk aside with the strength of a bull, and the unfortunate doctor went scrambling back, clutching wildly for the doorknob.

The CEO charged at the man, spitting fire. "What was my request, Scratchansniff? _What was it? _DE. ZANITIZE. THE. _WARNERS!_ Make them normal! At least, if they had a stitch of common sense in them, we wouldn't have to worry anymore, and they could go off and walk around like normal toons- and I wouldn't have to give a darn about where they ended up! And you couldn't do it!"

"But, Mr. Plotz, please listen to me!" Scratchansniff pleaded, "I tried, and zey were too zany! I'm zany now, too! Zere was nothing I could do, and I sought zat maybe when ze show vas cancelled, zey would stop-,"

"But they didn't!" Plotz screeched, "They come out more than ever, and now-," the man's hulking, trembling frame towered over the poor doctor's, "And _now_… you say… there's _another_ one… _ANOTHER ONE_, Scratchansniff! _Helping_ them terrorize _MY_ studio! We thought the Warner siblings would disappear into that darned tower after they lost their show, and now THERE'S ANOTHER ONE? Why, I _oughtta-!_"

"BOINGY! BOINGY! BOINGY! BOINGY!"

"_HEEEEEEEEEEELP!_"

"Hi there, Plotzy!" the toons chorused, throwing their arms around the CEO's fat neck and kissing his burning cheeks. "Hot! Hot! Hot!" they cried out, jumping back and grabbing their mouths.

"Gee, Plotzy, you need to take a cool shower!" Dot cried, throwing her hand up in the air disapprovingly. "You'll disintegrate, for Pete's sake!"

Wakko shook his head sadly. "_Please_, Mr. Plotz, do it for Pete!"

Yakko stood, looking at the destroyed remnants of the beautiful oak desk. He shook his head. "Tut, tut, Mr. Plotz! If you keep breaking your toys, Steven and the studio's tax dollars won't keep buying you new ones."

Plotz pushed Yakko aside and looked around, crazed. "Where is it? Where is the little monster?"

"Oh! You mean my pet!" Dot chimed in, holding up the little white box. The lid lifted, and a shrieking, scaly, oozing lake creature popped out, snapping its sharp teeth viciously at Scratchansniff and Plotz. They screamed and ducked down behind a vase, but Dot closed the lid and the hideous creature disappeared.

The two men peered out, traumatized, and Yakko strode up to them and put a comforting arm around Plotz's shoulder. "I believe you haven't met the newest edition to our gang, T.P. Come on out, don't be shy! Hey, Alice, I'd like you to meet Thaddeus Plotz. He's the dictator of the studio- Oops! Did I say that? I meant CEO of the studio."

Alice stepped forward and Plotz's jaw dropped to the floor, his eyes widening in horror. She held out her hand kindly and fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Nice to meet you, Plotzy." When she got no response, she sighed and offered, "How's about a kiss, Honey?" She jumped in and pecked his cheek.

Plotz just stared, his eyes flooding with shock. "No… No! _NO! NO! NOOOO!_" He jumped up high in the air, clutching his hair and kicking his feet, and finally fell, sobbing into his hands. Scratchansniff placed a consoling hand on his back and eyed Alice warily. Alice turned red and backed away.

Yakko smiled and batted his eyes. "Look, I hate to break up The Itty- Bitty Self-Pity Committee, but I think a warm welcome for our new friend would be swell."

"Witty," Alice pointed out.

Yakko shrugged with a grin and eyebrow wiggle. "Eh, I can be sympathetic. Or maybe they're just _pa_thetic," he remarked snarkily, pointing his thumb at the doctor and CEO.

"You're quite poetic," Alice remarked, watching Plotz's red face turn redder out of the corner of her eye. Dot and Wakko sat back with popcorn, ready for the big-budget explosion.

Yakko was also watching, but still faced Alice with a poorly concealed urge to laugh. "It's genetic," he said.

Plotz threw up his hands and roared, "I want you OUT! OUT! OUT! _RAAAAAAAALPH!_"

"Well, that was worth the money!" Wakko said to his sister, who nodded excitedly. They pulled out typewriters and Wakko exclaimed, "IMBd is getting first dibs on the review!"

Just then, Ralph burst in, huffing and puffing. "Dah, I founds dem!" he cried, pointing.

"GET THEM!" Plotz bellowed, and Ralph hurried towards them with his net above his head.

Yakko elbowed Alice and said, "Check this out."

Ralph nabbed the siblings and kicked.

_OOF!_

Plotz, Ralph, and Scratchy landed on the hard tile outside the office door with a thud.

Scratchy sighed into his arms. "Not again," he groaned.

Plotz stood up, strangely still. Scratchy was at his feet and retreated slightly. He knew that when Plotz was quiet, it was bad. Yes, it had taken a horrible turn. It wasn't funny anymore.

Ralph also sensed the oncoming danger, and he lumbered wildly down the hall to the elevator. "Dah, I'm's out of here's!"

Plotz strode quietly back into the office, where Yakko was showing Alice how to spin around in the big cushioned chair at lightspeed. Wakko was on one side of her and Dot on the other, and Yakko was counting down to launch. They all stopped when they saw Plotz, and Yakko faltered mid-number.

Plotz strode to them, his face stony, but his frame shaking with bottled-up rage. Yakko's hands slipped form the side of the chair as he faced the CEO, slender and barely taller than the squat, deadly man. He solemnly looked into the twitching eyes and every onlooker went silent. Was Yakko being serious?

Plotz's mouth opened in a twitching, stammering shake. A sort of growl, a light yet heavy stream of words came out. "Do you remember 16 years ago, sitting right there, across from me, on that rainy night?"

Yakko didn't answer, but his ears seemed to fall. He stood straighter, as though trying to force himself to be brave.

"What did I say?"

Yakko's eyes dropped, but a sort of glare hid under the bowed head. This was enough for Plotz. He burst forward with a torrent of angry words.

"What did I say, Warner? I said the show was finished! Caput! OVER!" He pushed Yakko back, and the poor toon caught the desk corner almost helplessly. Wakko snarled and was about to pounce, but Scratchy, who had been waiting fearfully at the door, caught him and held him back. Alice held Dot, who was murderously about to do likewise. It was a though she had turned to stone, Dot trapped in her frozen arms. She couldn't do anything.

But Plotz wasn't through. He continued advancing towards Yakko across the floor, who backed away cowering and trying to hide his face. "The show bombed, the humor died out, you and your siblings lost your touch, and the next thing we knew, we were back to just being the Warner Brothers Studio we were before that cartoon boom. And it's ALL because of you three! And I tried to help you. Oh, believe me, I was there from the very beginning. It was I, I who tried to make you normal, gave you several opportunities to fix you act, sent you off to Scratchansniff over here. You just couldn't keep that tower door closed! You just couldn't keep to yourselves! What did I say to you after the last stinger?"

Yakko didn't answer.

"_WHAT DID I SAY?_"

Yakko bowed his head and answered brokenly, "Don't ever come back out."

Plotz roared, "Exactly! But you never listen to me! Never! And I let it slide every time. I've let you run around for years, giving you patient reminders! Well, I'm out of patience! And now there is another one of you, and _accomplice_, terrorizing the studio, and you're all going to bring about our downfall with your shenanigans, just like you did last time!"

Yakko stopped backing away, but he remained bowed on the shining tile. One small tear hit the polished white, and the drip seemed to echo through the empty room like a ghost.

Plotz kneeled over him, growling in a voice so low nobody but Yakko could here, "You want to stay on my good side- out of the loony bin- where you belong? Get in your, tower, where you- and your siblings- and your friend- belong… and I never want to see you come back out again."

The sun sank behind the hills, and it went dark.

Yakko nodded his trembling head, still eying the tile under him in shock. "Come, siblings, Alice."

He stood up on shaking legs and went to Alice, who held his crying baby sister. Dot leapt into his arms and curled up in his embrace, against his trembling chest, and buried her teary face in his shoulder. Wakko took Yakko's hand and the three walked out past Plotz, Wakko shooting him a heartbroken glare. The three walked out of the office and down the hall silently.

Alice still sat in Plotz's chair, staring: her expression unreadable.

Plotz glared at her. "Didn't you hear? I said get out!"

Alice calmly walked up to him, and he faltered in his rage. She knew how to behave as a human as well as an author knows how to relate two topics, and it was coming in handy. And she was upset. She couldn't hide that.

"Mr. Plotz, sir," she said gently, and she could sense the shock at her politeness. She said softly, "I do not wish to disagree with you, sir, but I would like to simply point out that it was the Warner Sibling's escape that started the animation boom in the first place."

At this, Plotz was silent, and Alice smiled sadly. Scratchansniff's eyes darted from her to Plotz and back, waiting for the next move. But Plotz's fists unclenched, and his brows furrowed, either in fear or interest, or both. Alice continued.

"Without them, the studio wouldn't have grown at all. You should be thanking them for all the laughs that they brought. Their 'shenanigans', as you put it, are what won the studio 10 awards and 24 nominations. That's not what I'd call a failure.

"I do hope you'll dwell on what I've said- even for just a moment, but I just want you to understand. Goodnight, Mr. Plotz."

With that, Alice turned around and left the office quietly, and the door shut loudly behind her.

Scratchansniff looked at Plotz and stood up nervously. "She is right," he said gently. "Even zough zey drive me nutty, zey did make ze studio more prosperous zan ever."

Plotz crossed his arms, staring at the floor. "Goodnight, Scratchansniff."

"But, Mr. Plotz-,"

"_Goodnight_, Scratchansniff."

* * *

Alice pushed open the heavy tower door quietly, and was greeted by darkness. She looked around. The water jets were off, as was the train. The Hollywood sign was lit, casting shadows to fill the empty space. Alice gulped. Where were they?

Alice peeked into the siblings' room to find Dot and Wakko snuggled together on Dot's bed, Yakko holding them close. He looked up when she appeared on the threshold, her shadow reaching up towards them. His little siblings looked over, and Dot buried herself further in Yakko's lap.

Yakko kissed hers and Wakko's heads gently and whispered, "You two get some sleep, okay?"

Dot looked up at him with pleading eyes. "I love you."

Yakko smiled and rubbed her back gently. "I love you, too."

He sat up, and Wakko threw his arms around his neck. Alice turned away, feeling hot, unshed tears in her eyes. She could hear the squeaking springs as Yakko slipped from the bed, and she cast a glance at his approaching feet. She looked up, and couldn't help but feel a hole inside her. Wakko pulled Dot's little body into his lap, curling up on her pillow. Her head nodded off and rested lightly on his shoulder, and he pulled his cap further on and closed his eyes.

Yakko put his hands in his pockets with a sigh and glanced at Alice when he passed her in the door. She reached out, but he didn't notice. Then he stopped, the warm light on his back.

"You should go to bed," he said over his shoulder. Alice watched him go. He passed through the tower door and shut it with no sound, almost like a ghost. She turned back to see Wakko watching her. She looked down, avoiding his sad gaze.

"Hey," he said, smiling slightly.

Alice walked into the room further. "Hey."

The only sounds were Dot's cooing snores.

"Do people really still like us?"

Alice sat down on the edge of Yakko's bed. "Yes."

"Is Mr. Plotz wrong?"

Alice hugged her shoulders. "Of course he is. You know that he's wrong. Don't let him upset you."

Wakko curled up with Dot folded snuggly in his arms like a stuffed bear. "… He doesn't, but I know he upsets Yakko a lot."

"Why does he upset Yakko?"

Hesitant, Wakko looked down at his sleeping sister and bundled her up in her blanket tighter, obviously unsure about whether or not he should say anything. "I think he does," he explained, "And I'm very sure of it. Yakko acts like the things Plotz says don't bother him, but they do. I can tell."

"How long has it been like this?"

"I don't know… Too long."

Alice hunched her shoulders, trying to hide her face from him. She knew he was watching her.

"Where is Yakko going?"

"The roof. He goes there to think sometimes."

They sat again in silence, and Alice closed her eyes. She just wanted to disappear, back into an inkpot, where she belonged.

"Thanks for coming," Wakko said abruptly, smiling. "I like you a lot."

Alice rubbed her arms. "I like you two, too," she whispered, forcing a smile through the sadness. "But Yakko is right, today was a big day, and you need to sleep. Then you can get up early and… make pancakes again, or something."

"I'd like that."

Wakko smiled contently and nodded off, his head resting on Dot's. Alice slipped off of Yakko's bed and pulled the covers up around them snuggly. She placed a soft kiss on Dot's head, then Wakko's. He flinched slightly, but a peaceful smile spread across his tired face.

* * *

Alice pushed open the tower door as gently as possible, so as not to arouse Wakko or Dot.

The studio was dark, all except for the tall V.I.P building on the far end, lit like a city on its own, surrounded by trees with the freeway behind it. The freeway was alight with packed cars, their headlights blinking in the warm night like little winking eyes. It was like a line of glowing ants, slowly marching into the distant city.

Alice slipped up the tower ladder, and peered over the rim of the bright, red tin roof. Against the bright light of the pearl moon, a bowed silhouette was outlined, the only distinguishable feature a shining red nose. Alice ducked from view and curled up on a rung, hugging her knees miserably. This was all her fault. Why did she come?

A small, mournful sound could be heard. Yakko was singing to himself. His rich, mild voice carried across the flat metal and seemed to fly off into the inky black sky like a bird, to melt off into the dark and come back some other time. Alice's ears strained to hear, and when she did, her heart seemed to drop from her chest, down from the tower, out of her grasp, to where she wouldn't ever find it. It was a song she knew, but it lacked the cheers and the orchestra. It was just empty and alone, a sort of bittersweet memory.

"In our tune careers…

These are the golden years

We've loved the jokes…"

He faltered with a sigh, and Alice peered over to see the bowed figure staring down at something in his hands.

Alice pushed herself up onto the roof, Yakko's shadow cloaking her in darkness. "So have I."

Yakko leapt to his feet. "Alice!" he cried, stowing the object behind his back hastily. "What-? What are you doing here?"

Alice folded her arms and stared at her large feet. "I needed to know you were okay."

Yakko plopped down and sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

A warm breath of wind blew by, waving Alice's ears across her face. But despite the warmth of the Californian air, she shivered. She slowly approached Yakko, who was curled up quietly.

"But I do," Alice said, sinking down to sit next to him.

"Why? You barely know me."

"I've known you for two days, and have had more fun than I could've imagined, and I have seen the joy you've been bringing people for the past 21 years." She crisscrossed her legs and rested her head in her hands. "You're not fine. I can tell."

Yakko glanced at her, for once at a loss for words. He hugged his knees to his chest with a sigh. Then he groaned and buried his face in his arms.

"I don't know," he groaned. "Maybe… maybe Plotz is right. Our show was cancelled… Maybe… people just don't care, just like before… and I just want Wakko and Dot to… Sometimes, on bad days, I would sit and wonder if we were all better off in the tower, and sometimes I considered it, too. We should just stay in the tower, out of everyone's way, I'd think to myself... And now we don't have a choice… and now I know that that's not what I want for them, to be trapped like wild animals… But… If Plotz is right, it won't matter to anybody."

Alice placed a gentle hand on Yakko's back instinctively. She could feel him jump slightly at her touch, but he didn't pull away.

The night was quiet, filled with crickets and the distant sound of the freeway. The stars were out, shining brightly down on the peaceful lot. Somewhere, there was a clang of tin, alerting Alice of Rita and Runt's midnight scouting. Over the green hills, there were lights and clinks and stray balloons from the happy residents of Acme Acres. It seemed everywhere was happy but up here. The moon's watchful guard over the water tower brought a light that the toons couldn't seem to find.

Alice was almost afraid of the toon next to her. He wasn't supposed to be so sad- so broken! No, it was her fault for coming, and the siblings, her heroes and only friends, were paying for her mistake. She continued to rub his back, but with her other hand, she wiped away unshed tears before they fell.

"You're an amazing older brother, Yakko," Alice whispered.

Yakko sat up and stared into her eyes sadly. He shook his head. "I wish I was. If I was, we wouldn't be in trouble all the time."

Alice shook her head, almost angry at the way he said it. "That's not true, and you know it. You're the charmer, the most quick-thinking, the fastest, the most adult, in more way than one…"

Yakko smiled slightly. "You're good."

The air was silent again, and it was awhile before he continued.

"I do think. A lot, when we're locked up. I'm not what people think I am. I'm more thoughtful than what I may seem. I know that. Sometimes… I just get so… smart. I'm a toon, it's my job… but I go overboard with confidence, and then I let myself get in Wakko and Dot's way…"

"No, you don't, and you never will. You love them too much. And that's what's so special about you. You'd never intentionally put them in a bad spot."

Yakko shook his head with a broken sigh. "You don't know me. You've seen the show- it was always me getting us into trouble. I was the ringleader. You don't understand it. You're too sweet, and naive. You're the one who came to see us, because you care. I mean- Alice? Alice, what-?"

She had snapped. She shook her head bitterly and burst into tears. _No, no, don't cry! Come on, keep your chin up! _But the guilt was too much.

She covered her face in her hands and Yakko took her hands, instantly forgetting his own sadness, and whispered, "Oh, Alice, please, I-,"

"Yakko… this is my fault! All my fault," Alice wept. "I'm the one who got you in trouble. I just shouldn't have come at all, and then you three would still be alright, running around without having to worry about Plotz. I just wanted to meet you, and make sure you and I were real. I hoped- I hoped… we could all become friends before I have to go back, but…"

"Alice, stop," Yakko said, looking at her with a pleading look. "Alice- I… You have made us happier than we've been in years. You've showed us that people must still care. I mean- your creator- she must have cared, to make you. I'd rather get to spend one fantastic day with someone as funny and caring as you and my sibs than wander the studio for another decade with nobody. And hey… What's a few more years in the tower before Plotz kicks the bucket, anyway? And who knows, maybe someday we'll get that sequel Brain mentioned."

Alice impatiently wiped away her tears. "I hope you will, someday… What will you do, all by yourselves in the tower?"

Yakko held her around the shoulders and passed her a spotted handkerchief. "Here. Blow. Oh, I don't know. I can keep working on that memoir I was writing last time we were in the tower. I might grow a goatee. Maybe sign up for one of those online dating thingamabobs. Who knows?"

Alice smiled through her tears and laughed mildly. "And keep in touch with me.. I ca always visit, some way or the other, right?"

Yakko tapped her nose with his finger. "There's the stuff! There's that pretty smile! I mean- oh, shoot." He threw his head back with a small grin. "I stink at this sappy sort of thing, don't I?"

Alice giggled, wiping her eyes with the handkerchief.

"Well, anyway…" Yakko sighed and lay back, gazing up at the stars.

Alice looked behind him to see a flat shape, and she gingerly lifted it. It was the tasseled cap. She smiled slightly, and Yakko rolled over to see. He trembled slightly.

"Uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh… about that, I… well…" he faltered, staring into his lap. "It's just a keepsake."

Alice only smiled. "Montenegro, Bosnia, Herzegovenia, the Soviet Union is gone…"

Yakko stared, confused. "What's that?"

Alice blushed. "Mr. Rogel wrote a bonus verse for the song. You know, with the new countries. He performed it at Momocon."

Yakko smiled at her. "No one tells me these things." He coughed loudly. "Would you mind singing it for me? All of it?"

Everything seemed to stop at the request. Alice froze. Sing The Nations of the World _for_ Yakko Warner?

Yes, several times she had pictured herself singing along with him, belting out the countries as loud and fast as they could, but no, never once had she even fathomed the situation. She turned redder than her nose and took a deep breath. She began, her light, pretty voice carrying nicely along the warm breeze.

Yakko had to admire her voice, too angelic to sing the blues but too rough to sing opera. As she finished the final verse of the original song, Yakko stopped her. Without a word, he placed his tasseled cap on her head.

Alice held her mouth in shock, feeling herself shaking. She was wearing _the_ cap, worn by _the_ master as he sang the countries, the dictionary, and the time zones around the world, among other things. She stared at him in utter disbelief, but he just shrugged with an impressed smile.

"Well… don't just stare at me like a hooked catfish, sing it!"

Alice closed her eyes and breathed in deeply:

Montenegro and Bosnia, Herzegovenia, The Soviet Union is gone.

Belarus, Jovi, Moldovi and Latvia, Kerchekstan Azerbarjan.

Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, then there's Tijucas and also Turkmenistan too.

Croatia, Armenia, then there's Slovenia. Trinidad, Toguvalu.

Lithuenia, Serbia, Kosovo, Urua, Somoa, Gobaza, Berni, Rokawa, Krimea, then Artinea

Ukraine and Estonia, then Azagonia, Ukaligonia, eastern Klobonia,

Ivory, Kostaki, Urnia, Andorra, The Solomon Islands, Dubai!

She opened her eyes to see Yakko, a brilliant smile on his delighted face. He nudged her with his elbow and said, "You ain't half bad, Partner."

Alice blushed. "Neither are you."

Yakko took her hand reluctantly and said, "I don't normally do this, but… thank you. For coming, I mean. You're a really nice toon, especially for a girl." He smiled hopefully, and Alice leaned in and hugged him. Yakko smiled softly and gently hugged her back. "You're an incredible friend."

"So are you, and Wakko and Dot. And thanks for talking to me. Everything will get better. I promise."


	6. And the Moral of Today's Story Is

HellOOOOO, Nurses! Oh my goodness, I cannot thank all of you enough for the kind comments and suggestions! I appreciate feedback so so much, and love knowing that my story is worth reading! ^-^ I have worked on this chapter for way too long, so I hope it's good! Enjoy! NARF!

* * *

It was raining outside, nearly a week after that horrible night, which word had spread around the studio about and Plotz was about to blow up the water tower himself, had it not been for Scratchansniff's remaining sanity.

Everyone under employment the next day had begun worrying when Wakko's morning crow couldn't be heard, nor Yakko's laughter, nor Dot's music playing too loud. Something was horribly wrong.

It had been Hello Nurse to ask first. She fainted.

The news roared across the studio like wildfire. The reaction was a combination of utter shock and steadfast anger. Plotz was soon the object of hatred among nearly every employee at Warner. The concerned pressed the doctor with a wall of questions, almost desperate for information, but he had denied everybody, patient or other. Those who missed the mischievous siblings, despite the endless torture they inflicted upon them, would walk under the sturdy red beams of the tower, looking up hopefully. But it was in vain.

The tower had remained quiet.

Eerily quiet.

It seemed that the sprit of the studio itself had died with the sounds of the Warner siblings' games.

Nobody had seen the inside since the eldest sibling closed the heavy door for the final time. It was not as though the siblings had been shut in by the world, but rather, the siblings had shut the world out.

Not everybody knew of the Warner Sibling's fate, however. Over the hill, it seemed that Acme Acres was truly a whole wide world apart. The celebration continued, filling the empty, wet sky with balloons and laughter.

What a deceiving thing, laughter can be.

* * *

_Knock,_ _knock_.

"Doctor? Doctor Scratchansniff?"

The nurse opened the door gently and peered in, trying to hide her red eyes. She glanced around, looking for the long, bespectacled face. The doctor wasn't there. Could he have gone out? No, she was sitting at her desk the whole time. Yet he was gone. But he _had_ to be there! Hello Nurse could feel the insecurity already, knowing he was not there, where she knew she could always find him when she needed him. She looked around again, desperate.

The desk sat unoccupied, lonely without the occupant who usually sat reading. A gust of warm, wet air caught her attention, and she stepped warily into the room, closing the door softly. Her eyes wandered to the far end of the office, where a figure sat by the open window.

The heavy, warm California rain pitter-pattered outside, drops streaming down the opened glass panes. Three lonely pigeons flew by, looking for shelter from the rain, and a dog and cat padded sadly by, their eyes fixed upward.

The man's hunched frame sat curled up on the sofa, watching the silent water tower. His shoulders trembled, and the nurse hesitated in her usually confident steps. But her heels on the heavy carpet caught the doctor's ear, and he rolled over slightly.

"Oh, Miss Nurse, I- I'm sorry. I vas just… I… Do you need somesink?"

The nurse stood, unsure of herself. "I… I just wanted to sit with you, Doctor."

The doctor motioned for her to come sit with him on the sofa, and she sat gingerly at his side. She sat, watching him for a minute or two. His eyes never once wavered from the looming tower. It was just across the pavement, yet it seemed a world away. She saw the tear tracks on his shaking cheeks and restrained herself from saying something. But she was so worried. She sighed.

"Doctor." Her hand was on his shoulder, and she could feel him tense. He shrugged her hand away, and she bit her lip, trying to think. His eyes still watched the tower, and she could see them welling up again.

"Do you sink zey're okay up zere, all alone?"

Hello Nurse rubbed her arm, staring at the floor. "I- Well…" She looked over to see his hopeful stare at the tower, as though he expected the door to open and the three toons to pop out, kart-wheeling and jumping about like any other day. She smiled.

"I'm sure they're just fine. They're just… sleeping, or watching T.V., or something. They're probably planning an escape, knowing Yakko. Don't worry; They'll find something to do. They always do." She looked over to see the doctor's hands trembling in his lap. "Are you going to be okay?"

The doctor hugged himself, squeezing his eyes shut. He shook his head, anger with himself etched in the lines of his face.

"Doctor, please-,"

He broke.

His head was in his hands, and through the tears, three words could be made out. "All my fault… all my fault…"

"Doctor, how could you say-?"

"I vas ze one who said somesink in ze first place. It's my fault, getting zem locked up in zere, all alone, just like before. I was supposed to help zem, I _wanted_ to help zem… they were awful to us, but zey really did care, und I didn't, und I told Mr. Plotz about zat ozer one, und now… and now zey can never leave. I put zem zere…"

"But Doctor, you did help them! You cared for them when nobody else did!" The nurse tried again, and she placed her hand on his shoulder. This time, he didn't shrug her off, and she was relieved. She rubbed it instinctively, trying to come up with the right words to say. She could feel her insides tightening from her own guilt, and she was careful not to let her voice shake.

"I mean, I… I never truly was all that kind to Yakko and Wakko… but now, I miss them, even their songs and their kisses. They made me feel… special."

The doctor glanced at her and wiped away his tears. "In zere own special vay, I'd suppose."

"I always acted annoyed, or as though I didn't care, but I think I did- do. I do care. And I want them back. It's not your fault. It's Mr. Plotz's. How could he? They were the ones that got him his job back in the first place."

The doctor pulled his glasses off and wiped them on the corner of his shirt, lost in thought. Finally, he slowly nodded. "I know," he said softly. "But zere's nosink we can do. I tried to talk to him, and even zat new one, er, Alice, did. But he wouldn't listen to us."

Hello Nurse folded her hands. "Maybe he'd listen to me. I can try."

The doctor shook his head. "Miss Nurse, you know you can't. Zere's nosink we can do any more. It's… it's over."

Hello Nurse wiped her eyes, but couldn't help it and burst into tears.

The Doctor put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into a soft embrace. She held him around the neck, sobbing into his shoulder, whilst he cried into hers.

How could they have done it? Denied them acceptance for all those years? Always running from them or trying to lock them away, where they wouldn't have to ever see their faces again. And now, they wouldn't ever see them again.

But wasn't that what they wanted? Hadn't they wanted peace and quiet and sanity? What _was_ sanity? After all these years, it was hard to even remember why they chased the Warner siblings, why they wanted them out of the way. It had become instinct, automatic to chase an empty dream. How foreign, those words were. Sanity. Quiet.

_How_ could they ever have wanted that? The days were empty without them. It was as though they were dead, like they didn't exist. There were memories, bitter, dusty, wonderful memories of playing bingo, being trapped for 10 hours in an elevator together, going to the circus, chasing the siblings through a piano concert, among the thousands. Had they hated those days? They couldn't have! No, not looking back! The two remained together, the cartoons flashing through their minds in a blur, like cheerful ghosts.

No, not ghosts. It would make the Warner siblings… no. They're not gone- they're just locked away. And one day, they'll come out… but when was 'one day'? Please, the two prayed, let 'one day' be soon.

Up in the CEO's office, Plotz was crying.

* * *

It was the fifth day. The rain outside, soft and shy, seemed to batter the water tower, each drop splashing against the cold metal walls, sending ripples and sighs and plinks through the silent rooms.

The miserable toons had barely spoken since the door closed. Alice moved her bed to the sofa. She wasn't going to stay any longer in Yakko's bed with him alone in the cold belly of the tower. He had to be there, for Wakko and Dot. And it was for the best, she knew, to stay out of their way.

That first night after being shut in, when the rain first began to fall, Dot had been jostled from her sleep by a nightmare, and had shot from her bed crying and squealing. She went scrambling to Yakko's bed and nestled under the fluffy covers. She pounced on her big brother, curling up at his side.

Yakko was roused and mumbled, "Workin' pa nub… Dot, what's the matter? Dot? Hey, please, I don't understand what you're saying-,"

Dot crawled into his warm arms and buried her face in his soft fur, tears running down her cheeks.

"Yakko, it isn't true! No, no, no! We can't be locked in! Please, Yakko, it's not real! It's not real!"

"Dot, don't cry, please! It's okay, I promise. I promise, we're going to be okay." Yakko held Dot close, patting her back as she choked on her tears.

"Yakko," she whispered, trembling, "I'm so scared."

Yakko stroked her ears and hushed her cries, whispering to her gently. "Hey, you're alright. It's not like Dot to be scared, now is it? This isn't the Dot I know. The Dot I know goes headfirst into danger, ahead of her big, bad brothers. She's still in there, isn't she?"

Dot sobbed into his soft shoulder. "Please never leave me," she begged. "Everyone left us- please don't leave me, too."

"Hey, hey, hey, you're not alone! I'm here. I'm always here, okay?"

Dot's meek sobs echoed through the tower, and they aroused Wakko, who was buried under his covers with only his bright red nose sticking out. He popped out groggily, his tongue clamped between his teeth and his hat pulled over his eyes and unkempt black hair. He flicked on his lamp and froze, seeing his siblings. "…Dot? Are you okay?"

Concerned, he slipped down from his bed and padded over to sit with his brother. Yakko scooted over for him and he plopped down in the ocean of blankets cozily. He placed his gentle, gloved hand on his sister's back and rubbed, feeling her shaking gasps.

Eventually, they subsided, and Wakko said, "There, all better, right?"

"It's okay to be scared, sometimes," Yakko assured her, kissing her nose gently.

"But you're never scared. Well… you hate Baloney and Mr. Director and Elmyra, but you aren't ever scared," Dot said to her oldest brother, hugging his neck as though he would melt from her grasp and disappear.

Yakko sighed, feeling the warm little body of his baby sister nestled safely in his protective, big brother arms. He couldn't tell her that he could be scared, too. He glanced at Wakko, wishing somehow that he would be able to find confidence in his little brother's face. But there was none there. Wakko was just as helpless as Dot, but he couldn't say it.

_That_ scared him.

"Dot!"

The Warner siblings turned to see Alice in the doorway, her bangs brushed over her eyes and her ears tangled. She held the doorframe, reluctant to come in. Dot's cries had carried through the metal walls and into the 'living room'.

"Come sit with us," Yakko said kindly, cuddling his sister. "Dot just had a bad dream."

Alice hugged her arms. Should she go? Yakko wasn't mad; she knew that. But still, even after their talk on the roof that first night, she was almost scared of facing him, guilt still plaguing her mind. But she clambered up and ensconced herself next to Wakko in the nest of fluffy blankets. She looked down at her lap, avoiding the agonized face.

"Alice, your eyes! Are you-?"

The worry in Yakko's voice was thick, and Alice hunched her shoulders. Curse his observance. He had noticed. She knew he would've no matter what, but she had somehow hoped that he wouldn't look at her at all. No point in turning away now.

Her red eyes, sore from crying herself into a tormented, sleepless sleep, met with the alarmed black ones, and Yakko groaned.

"Oh, Alice…"

Dot looked up and her eyes welled up in disappointment at the sight. "You see? We'll never get out."

"Sure you will," Alice said sincerely, praying that the conversation would turn from her eyes. "You wait and see. We're just having a rough few days. It'll be hard, but we- you, I mean- will be out in no time. I know it."

"But we can't get out," Dot protested, wiping her eyes. "Stupid old Mr. Plotz meant it. He hurt Yakko. He's never done that. He's never been this mean and scary. He won't ever let us out ever again, I know it!"

Alice hugged her knees. "He will. He just needs some time. He'll have a change of heart, I think," she said, more to Yakko than the others.

Wakko and Dot glanced at each other and spoke simultaneously, "You really think so?"

"I'm not so sure," Wakko continued, biting his tongue sadly.

Yakko pulled his siblings into his arms and hugged them close, flashing an appreciative look at Alice. "Of course he will. He's just acting like… himself. Don't you worry, he'll cool off in no time."

And so they waited.

* * *

The Siblings and Alice tried to forget, and continued on with their waiting with hopeful disposition. But they were still afraid. Plotz had threatened them with the nuthouse, or worse, and they weren't going to take chances. Sure they were toons, but not everything was funny. However, they tried to stay optimistic inside their safe spot, and amused themselves in any way they could.

Wakko had begun playing games by himself like he always did when he was bored beyond belief, and after a close call with a bug zapper in the bathtub (he beat himself at Monopoly), he settled in to watch Don Knotts tapes in the 'living room', keeping mostly to himself, except for the day he and Alice watched the tapes together for nearly eight hours, and Dot finally booted them off the couch so she could watch _The Voice_. Yakko had settled down on his bed with his paddleball, and he spent his hours paddling away to beat his current record of 2,203,250 beats while singing (and repeating) the Nations of the World in Pig Latin while chewing gum. He had made it to 2,203,117 beats when Wakko burst in, chasing himself with his own mallet over a game of 'Old Maid', and he was knocked off the bed and lost it.

Dot, who grew up for 86 years with two older brothers, was thrilled to have another girl around to play with. She was usually exasperated with Alice's incessant use of marvelous, big words and scientific terms, which she picked up from her reading, but found that a girl's company was something she had always wanted. Alice suddenly found herself working as a model, being tolerant as the nine-year-old made her ears up in ribbons and painted her nails. Dot was like a hyper little sister, and Alice let her carry on as her 'fashion consultant', seeing that it distracted the little toon from her sadness.

In her free time, Alice explored the endless rooms and tunnels in the seemingly limited tower walls. One day, she found Yakko's hidden library in a hallway behind the bedroom, (which she recognized to be the place where they had filmed _Disasterpiece Theatre_) and she had spent the first two days ensconced in his cozy armchair reading such books as _The Odyssey_, _Les Miserables_, _Treasure Island_, The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Alice's creator had been studying the art of hieroglyphics since she was five), and _if You Throw a Pig a Party_, to name a few. She had found that reading, like a sleeping drought, calmed her and took her mind off of her troubles. She could travel off to distant lands without leaving the hidden nook in the tower. But most of the time, she found herself listening to Dot jabber away on her bed.

But when she had escaped from Dot and found that she had read everything that was worth reading (not including _Twilight_, which had been a signed present from Minerva and currently sat buried in a pile of firewood), she began thinking. Such a dangerous thing, she knew, but with the days as empty and meaningless as they were, she needed to do _something_. The hours spent in the warmth of the library put her head to work, and she realized that more was in there than accustomed to a toon.

Some things that lingered far too much in her mind were the things Yakko, Wakko, and Dot had been saying. Perhaps they were unaware of it, but their words stung her nostalgic heart and left marks. They were so wistful for people who loved them, and were oblivious to that fact, which hurt the most. She had heard their comments, as well as the folks' down at Acme Acres, and it was all too obvious the pain they all felt. Even Bugs was in a low spot.

Alice was beginning to panic. Her anxieties some days were too much, and she wouldn't eat, much to Yakko's horror, though he never mentioned it. She understood that she shouldn't have been as worried as she was, but so it remained. Yakko could sense it. He was worried, too. But he and Alice had to hide their troubles until after they put Wakko and Dot to bed, when they could drop the forced, mischievous grins and just talk. Even though, after that night on the roof of the tower, not much talking occurred. It seemed that they had dropped the conversation, yet so much more needed discussion. They understood that, and it was the fifth night that they finally spoke.

Alice was curled up in the armchair in the library and Yakko was sprawled on the thick rug, his paddleball at his side. Outside, it had grown cloudy, common to California in the autumn. The rain was returning, as though the sky was crying. But inside, the fire roared brightly and filled the room with cozy air and the smoky scent of red wood. The tongues of flame lit the shelves with a wonderful, golden glow.

Yakko stretched his arms and hugged his shoulders, looking up at the female toon with tired eyes. "We haven't heard a word, not even from Ralph," he said bitterly. "He usually comes up to taunt us through the door. Probably is down celebrating at a Krispy Kreme." Yakko rolled over and looked up at her. "You've been so quiet. Did Dot bust your eardrums?"

Alice grinned. "No. I'm just thinking."

"Ah, a common symptom from being stuck in the tower. But don't worry! You'll stop sooner or later. Then you'll be as crazy as us, and we'll be one, big happy family."

Alice looked down guiltily at her watch, then up at the ceiling. She knew she should've been leaving soon, but she couldn't abandon the siblings- not now. But she hadn't told anyone, not even Yakko, and tried to forget about it. "I'd suppose so."

"And how come you don't eat, anymore? Look, I keep telling Wakko to stop making his casserole, but he just loves cooking for you-,"

Alice laughed. "No, it's not the casserole, even though it gave me _horrible_ indigestion. I'm just frustrated."

Yakko jumped up into the armchair, hanging his head over the edge and kicking his feet up over the back. Alice was squished beside him, but she didn't mind. "That's a dangerous thing for a toon, you know. Why, next thing, you'll be bombing the place. I call it 'Slappy Syndrome'. Messy,_ messy_ case, really."

"I'm not going to run off and bomb the place," Alice said.

Yakko wiggled his eyebrows. "You never know… being stuck up here for too long brews up trouble."

"You're one to talk," Alice laughed, "If anyone's the troublemaker, it's you!"

Yakko spun around to sit normally, empowered by authentic laughter, and he slipped an arm smoothly around her shoulders. "Well, thank you. You should _see_ the sort of trouble I can cause. Since we're going to be stuck in the tower for awhile-,"

"GOODNIGHT EVERYBODY!"

Alice and Yakko jumped around to see Wakko standing in the oak doorframe, still completely asleep. He blew a large kiss and trudged back down the hall to the bedroom.

Alice glanced in horror at Yakko. "Should we be concerned-?"

"Nah," Yakko said, wiping away a happy tear. "It's impulse now. He learned from me- _oh_, I'm so proud of my little baby! He's like a little homing pigeon! Now!" He changed moods as though somebody had flipped a switch, his arm going back around her shoulders in a flash. "It's hard, being me, you know. Babs is with Buster, Hello Nurse is _never_ available, and the only female _cartoonus_ _characterous_ is my sister. Talk about discomfort."

Alice reddened. "I'd suppose that really is rotten luck. I'm sorry about that."

"How's about a kiss, then?" He puckered his lips and leaned in expectantly.

Alice moved his arm, blushing furiously. "Nice try, Yakko Warner. If anyone is going crazy being locked up in here, it's you."

Yakko leaned back, hands to himself. He shrugged. "You can't blame a guy for trying," he said. He dropped the strained humor and seemed to become more serious. "What have you been pondering, Brain?"

Alice, not sure whether to be pleased or offended by the comparison, said, "Nothing that matters now. I don't want to talk about it."

Yakko frowned. "It's because I tried to kiss you, isn't it?"

Alice laughed. "No, no, oh course not, I just… I know things have been so bleak around here, and I don't want to bring about upsetting stuff like that."

Yakko smiled kindly at her. "It's fine. I know we're all thinking the same things, so one more piece of depressing information isn't a problem."

"Oh, but I simply couldn't bring up some sad bit of anything," Alice exclaimed. "I'm just thinking, honest, about everything- how to make this all right. How to help."

Yakko's shoulders dropped, the remnant of his sad smile still lingering on his downturned face. "Hey, you've done more than we ever could've asked for," he said, nudging her with his elbow. "Please stop worrying about it. Really. Oh- wait! You want to know how you can help me? _Eat_; you're starting to scare me."

"Right-o, then," Alice sighed, dozing off in the warmth of the fire's glow. She snuggled up in the soft velvet of the armchair, her arm still against Yakko's. He grinned gently and pulled her over so that her nodding head rested on his soft shoulder. She pulled away slightly, turning pink, and curled up, awkwardly smiling at the mischievous male toon.

"Sleep well, Yakko."

"Right back at you- But I know you'll be up reading all night," Yakko said, standing up to leave. "If you need me, wait 'til morning, okay?"

"Okay. Goodnight, Yakko."

"'Night, Alice."

* * *

But it wasn't a good night. Alice was bundled up in the armchair, where she had started sleeping two nights before. It was too cold and dark in the cold living room. The dying, crackling embers glowed in the inviting dark with warm, golden ash, and down the hall, Wakko's yawns and growls could be heard. It brought a sort of comfort, but still, the poor female toon was tortured.

In Alice's mind, she was thinking of home. Not with the siblings, but with her creator. She had been with her for only a short time, but missed her greatly. She felt as though she had left a part of herself behind. A force pulling her back to her home throbbed in her head, and Alice felt almost like running out and breaking down the bolted iron door, to fly away, back to her creator. But she felt secured as though cement blocks pinned her feet to the tower floor. She needed to go home, but she couldn't until she fixed everything. She had made three friends that were now a part of her, too, and she wasn't going to abandon them the way everyone else had. She was going to find her idea.

So she pulled a laptop from behind her back and sat there, in the warm, golden darkness of the library, searching for something- _anything_- that could work. She sat until the clock struck 12, listening- and humming- to Animaniacs songs on Youtube as she worked. And then the idea hit her when she found a live track of 'Wakko's America'.

"Oh my gosh."

* * *

"_Hullo_?"

"_Hey, it's me, Alice!_"

"_Alice…? _Alice?_ What on earth are you doing? Wait- where are you? What's wrong? I haven't heard from you since you left, and you've had me worried sick! You didn't even bother letting me know if you made is safetly anywhere, and I've been crawling the walls figuring out what's happened to you-_,"

"_Gesundheit. Don't worry about me, I'm just fine. I'm here, in the water tower, with Yakko and Wakko and Dot, and that's the problem. Look, there's something important I've _got_ to talk to you about!_"

"What?! _You _actually went _to Burbank? You're with the Warner siblings? Alice, there is no way! What's happening? How on earth-_,"

"_The Warners are real. Scratchy and Hello Nurse are real, too. And so are Pinky and the Brain, and Babs and Buster and Plucky- they all are, here, at the studio_!"

"_It's impossible-_!"

"_No, it's not, and you know it. You believe in me don't you? Why can't you believe in them_?"

"_Alice, you're getting so defensive! You know that that's not what I- well, it is what I meant. I do believe, in all of you, but I _never_ would have thought_-,"

"_But you must think once in awhile, right? If you didn't, I wouldn't exist. And I thought you'd think they were real, the Warners, I mean. Especially after everything they've done for you-_,"

"_Alice, please don't! I mean it-_,"

"_I know your pains! Do you not think that I understand? I feel them everyday, along with my own, and my own are horrible. And I have done something worse than anything to the Warners. They didn't deserve it, after all those years making people like yours' lives brighter. They've helped us, and now we have to help them_.

"_It's my fault. You'd think I had sense enough not to come, especially with the personality you gave me, thank you very much. But I made a horrible mistake, and I have to do something about it_. "

"_You know it's 12:17 on a Tuesday, right?_"

"_No, I don't. You need to listen to me. The Warners are in big trouble, and I have to help them. I've got to fix this, before I go. But I'm afraid going is the only way to fix it. At least, going temporarily._"

"_Trouble? Alice, what's going on_?"

"_It's all my fault. I got them locked up, and I'm beginning to panic. I need your help, or they'll never get out._"

"_Alice, how-?"_ The line crackled. "_…Tell me what you are up to, and what I'm supposed to do._"

Alice hugged her knees to her chest, wiping away her tears. "_Look for me when you wake up. I'm coming home._"

_Click_.

Alice put away the books and the laptop, making sure nothing was out of place to trace her. She slipped into the hallway silently and walked into the siblings' room, careful not to wake them. In the dark, only Wakko's nightlight glowed, casting dancing shadows across the walls and ceiling. She could only make out their shoulders moving as they breathed.

She approached Wakko's bed and saw that he held the brim of his hat, assuring that it wouldn't fall off as he slept. She smiled and placed a soft kiss on his nose, pulling his slipping covers up around him tighter. He smiled and sighed, snuggling up further into his pillow. She whispered, "_Good luck_."

She crossed to the small female toon's bed and stared down at the small figure curled up among stuffed animals and fluffy blankets. Dot was even more adorable in sleep, even when she was sad.

Alice knelt and hugged the sleeping toon, trying to express every apology for the little one's pains, though she knew Dot wouldn't know. But it felt good, knowing that Alice had done it, like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Dot sighed contently, and Alice kissed her little head.

"_See you soon_."

She tucked the little toon back into her bed and slipped away, about to leave. But as she stepped onto the threshold, she froze. How could she? Was she really that foolish and ashamed? It was no way to be, after everything he had done for her. But she couldn't face him, even in his sleep. She could not bear to see his agonized face, knowing that she had caused his despair.

But she was going to fix it. She would come back, to save them, and the others, too. She had to. She couldn't just leave him, not after he had poured his heart out to her. She sighed and turned around.

Yakko was peaceful in his sleep, on the outside, at least. Surely, there must be words buzzing around his head, just aching to be used.

Did he dream?

Alice placed a soft hand on his forehead, sitting gently on the corner of the bed. She knew he did. He dreamt about the fun days of running around, terrorizing the studio and delighting families across America at the same time. Oh, the stories he must recall! All the jokes, the ones that never made it past edits, past the behind the scenes. Some of the things that must've come out of his big mouth! She could imagine his head, filled with the smiles and uncontrollable laughter that he must have stirred up. How nice, to have been wanted.

Alice jammed her eyes shut, trying to restrain her tears. Tears?

_Don't cry! You're going to help! He's going to be wanted again. I want them back, and so does everyone else_.

Alice sat up and almost left, but then her eyes locked with her little golden watch.

The gold was worn, and the leather strap was thinning. But there was something beautiful in it. It wasn't trashed, or old. It was loved. And The Creator had trusted her with it. She loved her. And Alice loved her, too. And they both loved the Warner siblings. Alice looked up at the peaceful toon softly.

She took the watch off with a shaking hand and placed it delicately on Yakko's pillow. She leaned in and gently kissed his nose, and a small, serene smile spread across his weary face, just the slightest touch of mischief hidden underneath it. She smiled back and left the room.

Alice slipped out and leapt from the tower railing. It had been hard, sucking in her stomach paper-thin to slip through the iron door. She landed softly on the pavement and tore off across the lot, desperate to reach the gates before the night guard could see her. No, she wasn't going to be discovered. She couldn't be. She had come too far. She was going to make it.

She hopped the gate of the studio and continued running. It was as though she was empowered by fear, excitement, or both. But she had to keep going, not matter what. She sped down the sidewalk and cut across the street, where and was almost hit by a swerving car. But she only ran faster, ignoring the stabbing pain in her side from lack of food. She ran through the nicer residential area in front of the river and cut across the concrete bridge to Buena Vista Park, a copse of dark green under the bright Burbank sky, the city rising above the leafy canopy. The streetlights cast fleeting shadows across the stretch of lawn, Alice's quick shadow darting and dancing across the white walk.

She didn't stop running until she reached the lonely park bench, and she dropped to her knees to catch her breath. Out here, there were no sounds, only resting birds and the distant sounds of cars. A painful longing for the wide fields and purple mountains of her home struck her heart. But she couldn't leave without asking. Not yet.

"I turn to the Wheel of Morality…"

As expected, the Wheel rolled over from nowhere in particular and stopped in front of her. She gulped and placed a shaking hand on the knob. She pulled. The Wheel began to spin.

"Wheel of Morality, turn, turn, turn. Tell me the lesson that I should learn."

The Wheel stopped on Number 4. She pulled the paper up and read quietly, "'_It's a little late to be asking, don't you think?_' Huh? Ooh, a free spin!" She tried again. Her anxious eyes followed the flashing numbers, desperate.

The Wheel stopped on Number 7 and Alice pulled the paper from the slot. She took a deep breath and read, "'_If you don't try, you don't go anywhere_.'"

The little toon looked up at the black watercolor sky. Gray clouds hungs fresh in the wet air, parting to reveal thousands of small, glinting stars. The world seemed so bleak, and yet they were still twinkling down on the city without a care in the world. Alice smiled.

"I'm ready."

* * *

Yakko woke up to the light patter on the roof. He sighed. "Rain again."

He sat up and glanced at his siblings through tired eyes. Wakko was hanging halfway off his bed, chewing his pillow and snoring, and Dot was still bundled up with all her stuffed animals, cuter than a button. It was just another typical morning, up in the tower. Too typical. At least Alice was around. She was the only other person he knew who shared his intelligence, keen wit, and motor mouth. He would bother her later. She must have been tired.

Yakko lay back down and jumped back up with a small cry. He looked down to see what his head had laid on, and his eyes widened in shock and confusion.

"Alice?"

His trembling hand reached down and picked up the worn old watch almost fearfully, and he could feel his eyes welling up with unshed tears. He cradled the precious watch in his hands, feeling his insides tearing apart. It couldn't be. She wouldn't dare… would she?

She must have left them! Alice had left them! She had left _him_! No, not after everything! He had trusted her, confided in her, found a mature friend in her that he had never had, and now she was gone.

Something in his heart had told him that she'd stay there for them. Something told him that she cared. She did care! She must have! She was so smart and patient and optimistic about everything, and she had given him a sense of hope that he couldn't find in his kid siblings. And he hadn't even been brave enough to tell her. Stupid, stupid stupid!

She was gone. He didn't need to check the library to know that. He knew. His longing turned to anguish, and that turned to disappointment. His eyes darkened. He still held the watch, and the horrible, bitter tears fell upon its scratched face.

The rain fell harder.


End file.
